How to buy First Bancorp stock | $33.54

First Bancorp is a banks—regional business based in the US. First Bancorp shares (FBNC) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. First Bancorp employs 1,065 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$259.2 million.

How to buy shares in First Bancorp

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for First Bancorp. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: FBNC. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until First Bancorp reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$33.54, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of First Bancorp, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of First Bancorp. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

First Bancorp share price

Use our graph to track the performance of FBNC stocks over time.

First Bancorp shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-10-20.

Latest market close	USD$33.54
52-week range	USD$17.319 - USD$41.34
50-day moving average	USD$21.356
200-day moving average	USD$22.7338
Wall St. target price	USD$26.75
PE ratio	8.3114
Dividend yield	USD$0.72 (3.16%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$2.735

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Is it a good time to buy First Bancorp stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of First Bancorp by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

First Bancorp price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $33.54 from 2020-12-04

1 week (2020-11-25)	0.90%
1 month (2020-11-05)	37.35%
3 months (2020-09-04)	56.73%
6 months (2020-06-05)	17.03%

1 year (2019-12-05)	-14.89%
2 years (2018-12-04)	-8.78%
3 years (2017-12-05)	-11.50%
5 years (2015-12-04)	69.14%

Is First Bancorp under- or over-valued?

Valuing First Bancorp stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of First Bancorp's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

First Bancorp's P/E ratio

First Bancorp's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 8x. In other words, First Bancorp shares trade at around 8x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

First Bancorp's PEG ratio

First Bancorp's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.1766. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into First Bancorp's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

First Bancorp financials

Revenue TTM	USD$259.2 million
Operating margin TTM	41.17%
Gross profit TTM	USD$273.6 million
Return on assets TTM	1.25%
Return on equity TTM	9.56%
Profit margin	31.03%
Book value	$29.951
Market capitalisation	USD$656.9 million

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting First Bancorp shares

There are currently 549,305 First Bancorp shares held short by investors – that's known as First Bancorp's "short interest". This figure is 37.1% up from 400,572 last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting First Bancorp shares can be evaluated.

First Bancorp's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

First Bancorp's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of First Bancorp shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of First Bancorp shares traded daily (recently around 175496.80511182). First Bancorp's SIR currently stands at 3.13. In other words for every 100,000 First Bancorp shares traded daily on the market, roughly 3130 shares are currently held short.

However First Bancorp's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of First Bancorp shares, or, against the total number of tradable First Bancorp shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case First Bancorp's short interest could be expressed as 0.02% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 First Bancorp shares in existence, roughly 20 shares are currently held short) or 0.0194% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable First Bancorp shares, roughly 19 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against First Bancorp.

Find out more about how you can short First Bancorp stock.

First Bancorp share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 28.57% of net profits

Recently First Bancorp has paid out, on average, around 28.57% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 3.16% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), First Bancorp shareholders could enjoy a 3.16% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In First Bancorp's case, that would currently equate to about $0.72 per share.

While First Bancorp's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that First Bancorp may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.

First Bancorp's most recent dividend payout was on 23 October 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 29 September 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have First Bancorp's shares ever split?

First Bancorp's shares were split on a 3:2 basis on 16 November 2004. So if you had owned 2 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 3 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your First Bancorp shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 33.3% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for First Bancorp shares which in turn could have impacted First Bancorp's share price.

First Bancorp share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, First Bancorp's shares have ranged in value from as little as $17.319 up to $41.34. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while First Bancorp's is 1.1649. This would suggest that First Bancorp's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

First Bancorp overview

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 primarily in North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina. It accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers loans for a range of consumer and commercial purposes comprising loans for business, real estate, personal, home improvement, and automobiles, as well as residential mortgages and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides credit and debit cards, letters of credit, and safe deposit box rental services, as well as electronic funds transfer services consisting of wire transfers; and Internet and mobile banking, cash management, bank-by-phone services, and remote deposit capture services. Further, the company offers investment and insurance products, such as mutual funds, annuities, long-term care insurance, life insurance, and company retirement plans, as well as property and casualty insurance products; and financial planning services. As of December 31, 2019, it operated 101 branches, including 95 branches in North Carolina and 6 branches in South Carolina. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of First Bancorp is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 2.195% of First Bancorp shares are held by insiders and 70.483% by institutions.

• How many people work for First Bancorp?

  Latest data suggests 1,065 work at First Bancorp.

• When does the fiscal year end for First Bancorp?

  First Bancorp's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is First Bancorp based?

  First Bancorp's address is: 300 SW Broad Street, Southern Pines, NC, United States, 28387

• What is First Bancorp's ISIN number?

  First Bancorp's international securities identification number is: US3189101062

• What is First Bancorp's CUSIP number?

  First Bancorp's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 318910106