Cynosure Group LLC Cuts Stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Cynosure Group LLC reduced its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,335 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,314 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FBP. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 159.8% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 377,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,015,000 after buying an additional 232,117 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,462,862 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,981,000 after buying an additional 76,256 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter valued at $168,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,275,000. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth about $267,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 186,543 shares in the company, valued at $3,874,498.11. This represents a 19.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $19.38 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.12. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $22.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.40.

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.