Jane Street Group LLC Has $2.89 Million Stock Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 85.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,953 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned about 0.17% of First Bancorp worth $2,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $211,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the third quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $216,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company 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.

First Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $44.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.65. First Bancorp has a one year low of $29.53 and a one year high of $50.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. Equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 35.48%.

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.