Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $8.81 Million Stock Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 200,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,893 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of First Bancorp worth $8,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,649,000 after buying an additional 297,144 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its position in First Bancorp by 979.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 247,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,875,000 after purchasing an additional 224,419 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 423,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,612,000 after buying an additional 93,072 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 220.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,351,000 after purchasing an additional 71,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 142.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 79,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after acquiring an additional 46,930 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

First Bancorp Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $41.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80 and a beta of 1.04. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $29.53 and a 52 week high of $50.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.