Navellier & Associates Inc. Has $575,000 Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,954 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 6,035 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 63.3% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 34,616 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth about $4,792,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth about $420,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,779,000 after buying an additional 189,148 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,879,000 after buying an additional 112,432 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total transaction of $214,160.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 176,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,656,606.50. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

NYSE FBP opened at $19.37 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.14. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $16.24 and a 52-week high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 18.89%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on FBP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.40.

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.