First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.5833.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $24.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 34,122 shares of the 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 4,723 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total transaction of $106,881.49. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 637,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,415,739.97. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in First BanCorp. by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 22,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 5,636 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in First BanCorp. by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 725,733 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,044,000 after purchasing an additional 148,626 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 797,081 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,523,000 after purchasing an additional 58,670 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 719,566 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,917,000 after purchasing an additional 262,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 212.1% in the fourth quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 291,643 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after buying an additional 198,195 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

FBP opened at $22.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.88. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $16.40 and a 1 year high of $23.43.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 27.48%.The firm had revenue of $257.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.18 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.49%.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

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.