Short Interest in The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) Rises By 15.7%

The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 36,900 shares, an increase of 15.7% from the October 31st total of 31,900 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 16,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 492,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,535 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 0.8% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 49,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 7.7% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.41% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.6 %

FNLC stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.57. 8,534 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,994. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.20 and a 200-day moving average of $25.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $21.77 and a 1 year high of $31.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.61 million, a PE ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.56.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 60.76%.

First Bancorp Company Profile

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.