First Bancorp (North Carolina) (FBNC) Stock AnalysisFBNCFirst Bancorp (North Carolina)

First Bancorp is a bank holding company. The principal activity of the Company is the ownership and operation of the First Bank (the Bank), a state-chartered bank with its main office in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Through its subsidiaries, the Bank provides full-service commercial and consumer banking services, mortgage banking services, automobile financing, insurance agency services, and other financial products and services. The Bank maintains a diversified loan portfolio by providing a broad range of commercial and retail lending services to business entities and individuals. The Bank provides commercial business loans, commercial and residential real estate construction and mortgage loans, revolving lines of credit, letters of credit, and loans for personal uses, such as home improvement, and automobiles. The Bank offers a full range of deposit accounts and services to both retail and commercial customers. The Bank operates over 113 branches. It operates in the Financials sector (STATE COMMERCIAL BANKS industry).

First Bancorp (FBNC) appears to be a good buy right now, trading at $60.36 with a forward P/E ratio of 14.64, which is attractive compared to its growth potential. The company reported a Q2 GAAP EPS of $1.22, exceeding expectations by $0.07, indicating strong profitability. However, the main risk is the recent downgrade by Raymond James, which could limit short-term upside, as they lowered their price target to $71 from $72.

7 analysts cover FBNC: 5 rate it Buy, 2 Hold and 0 Sell. The average price target is 60.67.