Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 205,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,409 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $8,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Bancorp by 807.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $128,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in First Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $243,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancorp Stock Down 2.6%

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $45.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80 and a beta of 0.87. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $34.50 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $105.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 16.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on FBNC. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.33.

About First Bancorp

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.