Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 73,168 Shares of First BanCorp. $FBP

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 11.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 697,827 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,168 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.43% of First BanCorp. worth $15,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 14.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 910,845 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,084,000 after buying an additional 114,931 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 93.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,567 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 191.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 40,723 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 26,772 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,541,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,098,000 after purchasing an additional 616,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $427,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price target (up previously from $23.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.58.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FBP opened at $22.44 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $16.40 and a 52-week high of $23.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.88.

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

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 33.49%.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other news, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 4,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total transaction of $106,881.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 637,019 shares in the company, valued at $14,415,739.97. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.11, for a total transaction of $754,437.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 62,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,391,537.07. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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.