Short Interest in The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) Grows By 52.3%

The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 57,100 shares, an increase of 52.3% from the June 30th total of 37,500 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 17,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FNLC traded down $0.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $28.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,598. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.08. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $21.77 and a fifty-two week high of $29.75.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This is a positive change from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in First Bancorp by 9.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 49,663 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477 shares in the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME boosted its position in First Bancorp by 0.8% during the second quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 732,959 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,214,000 after purchasing an additional 5,755 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth $25,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in First Bancorp by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 492,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,535 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.41% of the company’s stock.

About First Bancorp

The First Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for First National Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to individuals and businesses. It offers various deposit products, including demand, NOW, time, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides commercial loans comprising commercial real estate owner occupied, such as mortgage loans to finance investments in real property such as retail space, offices, industrial buildings, hotels, educational facilities, and other specific or mixed use properties; commercial real estate non-owner occupied loans; commercial construction to finance construction in a mix of owner- and nonowner occupied commercial real estate properties; and commercial and industrial loans, including revolving and term loan for financing working capital and/or capital investment.