First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Price Target Raised to $21.00

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) had its target price upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FBP traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $17.52. 281,928 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,116,007. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $10.18 and a 1-year high of $17.74.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $302.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.19 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 25.82%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.57%.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total transaction of $164,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,405.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other First BanCorp. news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total transaction of $164,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,055 shares in the company, valued at $824,405.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $256,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 246,930 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 132,600 shares of company stock valued at $2,278,784 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First BanCorp.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBP. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,288,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $165,408,000 after purchasing an additional 505,003 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,096,761 shares of the bank’s stock worth $166,095,000 after purchasing an additional 65,021 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 3,150,506 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,826,000 after acquiring an additional 116,642 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,084,199 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,053,000 after buying an additional 52,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter valued at $32,590,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First BanCorp.

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.