Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Stock Price

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) had its target price upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Hovde Group lowered their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 0.8 %

FBP opened at $20.57 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $15.95 and a 12 month high of $22.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 19.91% and a net margin of 24.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 34,616 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter worth about $4,792,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,779,000 after purchasing an additional 189,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,879,000 after purchasing an additional 112,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 657,459 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,025,000 after purchasing an additional 25,958 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

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.