Hantz Financial Services Inc. Acquires 8,896 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,896 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $1,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake 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. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $43.58 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. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.05. First Bancorp has a 52 week low of $29.53 and a 52 week high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research 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.