Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,696 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,520 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,696 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in First BanCorp. during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 5,054.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,701 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 222.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,952 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 166.7% during the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 2nd quarter worth about $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First BanCorp. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of FBP opened at $20.71 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $14.86 and a twelve month high of $22.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.11.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its 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 analysts’ expectations of $238.51 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 35.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 1,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total transaction of $41,815.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,476 shares in the company, valued at $1,881,608.76. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First BanCorp. 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.