Short Interest in The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) Expands By 15.7%

The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 36,900 shares, a growth of 15.7% from the October 31st total of 31,900 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 16,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 492,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,535 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 732,959 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,214,000 after purchasing an additional 5,755 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 49,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.41% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FNLC traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.49. 12,105 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,261. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.66 million, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. First Bancorp has a one year low of $21.77 and a one year high of $31.05.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 60.76%.

First Bancorp Company Profile

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.