First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Receives $24.58 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.5833.

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

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP stock opened at $21.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $23.43.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $257.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.18 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 17.33%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 37.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 4,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $106,881.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 637,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,415,739.97. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $754,437.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 62,937 shares in the company, valued at $1,391,537.07. The trade was a 35.16% 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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. XTX Topco Ltd boosted 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 buying an additional 5,636 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 725,733 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,044,000 after acquiring an additional 148,626 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 7.9% during 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 during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 57.3% in 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 holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 198,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.