First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.25 Per Share

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share by the bank on Friday, December 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. This is a 25.0% increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

First BanCorp. has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 6 years. First BanCorp. has a payout ratio of 37.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First BanCorp. to earn $2.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.7%.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

NYSE:FBP traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.51. 946,723 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,425,258. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $19.16 and a twelve month high of $29.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.64 and a 200 day moving average of $26.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.84.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $260.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.32 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. On average, analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.40 EPS for the current year.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. is a bank holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, businesses and government-related entities. The company’s offerings include consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, deposit accounts, cash-management services, credit cards, electronic banking and other financial solutions.

FirstBank serves customers through a network of branches, automated teller machines and digital banking channels.