First BanCorp. (FBP) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 30th

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.16 per share by the bank on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th.

First BanCorp. has increased its dividend by an average of 41.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 4 years. First BanCorp. has a dividend payout ratio of 35.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First BanCorp. to earn $1.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.8%.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

NYSE:FBP traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.24. The stock had a trading volume of 879,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 862,253. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.76. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $10.18 and a 12 month high of $17.74.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $302.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.19 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 25.82% and a return on equity of 21.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,126,325 shares in the company, valued at $19,339,000.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total transaction of $164,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,405.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,126,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,339,000.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 132,600 shares of company stock worth $2,278,784. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations.