De Lisle Partners LLP Makes New $241,000 Investment in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Down 1.5 %

FBNC opened at $47.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $50.34. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.82.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Activity

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. This represents a 20.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

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.