149,503 Shares in First BanCorp. $FBP Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 149,503 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,296,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. James Investment Research Inc. lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 60,562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 12,505 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in First BanCorp. during the third quarter worth about $210,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 87,346 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,926,000 after buying an additional 7,861 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 4.5% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 254,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,620,000 after buying an additional 10,894 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $23.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $24.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 34,122 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.11, for a total transaction of $754,437.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,937 shares in the company, valued at $1,391,537.07. This trade represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $23.25 on Monday. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $23.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.14.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business had revenue of $257.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.49%.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp (NYSE: FBP) is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company offers a comprehensive range of banking services including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, cash management solutions and treasury services. It also provides mortgage origination and servicing, equipment leasing, investment management, and insurance agency services.

In its commercial banking segment, First BanCorp serves small and midsize enterprises as well as large corporate clients, delivering tailored credit facilities, letters of credit, and foreign trade financing.