First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) EVP Sells $214,160.75 in Stock

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total transaction of $214,160.75. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Carlos Power also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 5th, Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of First BanCorp. stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total transaction of $951,203.69.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 1.2 %

FBP stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.83. The stock had a trading volume of 577,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 985,140. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $16.12 and a 1-year high of $22.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.63 and a 200 day moving average of $20.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.14.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 35.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBP. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in First BanCorp. by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 34,616 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $4,792,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 106.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,779,000 after acquiring an additional 189,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,879,000 after acquiring an additional 112,432 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new position in First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $529,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBP has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group dropped their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.