GAMMA Investing LLC Has $61,000 Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $61,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 6.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,104,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,166,000 after purchasing an additional 136,002 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 20.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,649,000 after acquiring an additional 297,144 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,628,000 after acquiring an additional 12,922 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 18.4% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 802,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,615,000 after buying an additional 124,992 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 0.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,979,000 after buying an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Down 3.1 %

FBNC opened at $40.96 on Monday. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.65 and a 200-day moving average of $42.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $144.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. On average, equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 35.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

About First Bancorp

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides banking products and services for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. The company accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts.