Barclays PLC Grows Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 189,148 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.22% of First BanCorp. worth $7,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 57,876 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in First BanCorp. during the second quarter worth $216,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 13.6% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 40,584 shares of the bank’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 4,864 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 55.8% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 656,855 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,014,000 after acquiring an additional 235,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the second quarter valued at $880,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of FBP stock opened at $19.45 on Wednesday. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $15.15 and a 1-year high of $22.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.97. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The company had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. First BanCorp.’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. Hovde Group lowered their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.