First Bancorp $FBNC Shares Sold by Peregrine Capital Management LLC

Peregrine Capital Management LLC cut its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 3.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 140,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,692 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $6,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 1,412.9% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 33.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth $236,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth $243,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $49.70 on Tuesday. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $34.50 and a 52 week high of $56.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.82.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.08. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 17.50%.The company had revenue of $89.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.47 million. Equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FBNC. Zacks Research lowered First Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Stephens boosted their price objective on First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.67.

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.