First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Benchmark raised their target price on First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.38.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $26.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $19.16 and a twelve month high of $29.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.38.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $281,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 230,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,919.62. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Roberto Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $750,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 610,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,391,853.12. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,328,248 in the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 3.0% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 18,382 shares of the bank’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in First BanCorp. by 64.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 35,979 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $769,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,671 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,207 shares of the bank’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities.

FirstBank’s offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, credit cards, cash management and other business banking services. The company also provides mortgage-related services and insurance products through affiliated operations, along with digital and electronic banking tools.

First BanCorp.