Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 15,843 First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 15,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,799,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,122,000 after purchasing an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,104,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,166,000 after acquiring an additional 136,002 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 802,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,615,000 after acquiring an additional 124,992 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 0.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,979,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 15.0% in the second quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 210,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,710,000 after purchasing an additional 27,450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $47.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.82. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.53 and a 1-year high of $50.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $144.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 65,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.