The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) Short Interest Update

The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 33,000 shares, a growth of 17.9% from the February 13th total of 28,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 22,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,604 shares of the bank’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,557 shares of the bank’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 4,472 shares during the period. 40.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

FNLC stock opened at $24.95 on Friday. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $21.77 and a 1 year high of $31.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.53.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNLC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter. First Bancorp had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 10.90%.

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.