First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $43.94, but opened at $40.66. First Bancorp shares last traded at $44.37, with a volume of 14,528 shares traded.

Specifically, Director J Randolph Potter sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,482.48. This trade represents a 62.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBNC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.05.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,649,000 after purchasing an additional 297,144 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,628,000 after buying an additional 12,922 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 0.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,979,000 after buying an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 3.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 493,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,539,000 after buying an additional 14,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 28.2% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 423,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,612,000 after acquiring an additional 93,072 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.