First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.3750.

FBP has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded First BanCorp. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded First BanCorp. from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.59, for a total value of $295,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 240,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,113,376.82. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,467,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $445,017,000 after purchasing an additional 413,557 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,862,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 527,991 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,659,149 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,856,000 after buying an additional 171,580 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.7% during 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. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 31.6% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,284,146 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,365,000 after acquiring an additional 548,164 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 1.1%

FBP opened at $28.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.41. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $19.16 and a 12 month high of $29.88.

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

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

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

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.