First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

First Bancorp Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of FBNC traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 164,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,678. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.64 and a 200 day moving average of $32.44. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.99. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $26.00 and a 1 year high of $38.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $97.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.63 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 19.06%. As a group, analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 53.1% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in First Bancorp by 17,233.3% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 665.5% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $85,000. 66.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.