Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 479 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 479 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,715 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 52.2% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 35,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 12,202 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 372.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 742,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,654,000 after purchasing an additional 585,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 443,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,519,000 after purchasing an additional 28,686 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Bancorp Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $42.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.70. 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 cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08 and a beta of 0.85.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.81 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on First Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.33.

First Bancorp Company Profile

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.