First BanCorp. $FBP Shares Bought by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,370 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,598 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $3,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,138,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 767.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,262,241 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,791 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,661,695 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,854,000 after acquiring an additional 871,860 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 82.9% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,434,382 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,878,000 after acquiring an additional 649,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in First BanCorp. by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,284,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,365,000 after purchasing an additional 548,164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $28.67 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $19.16 and a 52-week high of $29.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.65 and a 200-day moving average of $23.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $264.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.31 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 29.24%. On average, analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 33.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on FBP. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First BanCorp. from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.75.

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.