First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Increases Dividend to $0.18 Per Share

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 21st,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.18 per share by the bank on Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16.

First BanCorp. has increased its dividend by an average of 27.3% per year over the last three years. First BanCorp. has a payout ratio of 31.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First BanCorp. to earn $1.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.6%.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP opened at $19.58 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.18. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $15.85 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.14.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.51 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 19.91% and a net margin of 24.94%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,011,223.10. The trade was a 9.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FBP shares. Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.20.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations.