Hantz Financial Services Inc. Increases Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,896 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. owned 0.10% of First Bancorp worth $1,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in First Bancorp by 82.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in First Bancorp by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $43.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 1.05. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $29.53 and a 1 year high of $50.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.