OFG Bancorp (NYSE:OFG) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

OFG Bancorp (NYSE:OFG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 6,791 call options on the company. This is an increase of 8,389% compared to the typical volume of 80 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on OFG Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of OFG Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of OFG Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of OFG Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of OFG Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.50.

OFG Bancorp Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:OFG opened at $51.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. OFG Bancorp has a 12-month low of $35.71 and a 12-month high of $54.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.67 and its 200 day moving average is $46.83.

OFG Bancorp (NYSE:OFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. OFG Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 24.64%. The business had revenue of $186.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $187.11 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that OFG Bancorp will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OFG Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This is an increase from OFG Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. OFG Bancorp’s payout ratio is 26.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other OFG Bancorp news, Director Néstor de Jesús sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $212,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,120. This trade represents a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Maritza Arizmendi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.35, for a total value of $533,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,024,091.40. This trade represents a 15.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in OFG Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $302,289,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in OFG Bancorp by 1.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,565,784 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,811,000 after purchasing an additional 27,774 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in OFG Bancorp by 13.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,321,924 shares of the bank’s stock worth $93,945,000 after buying an additional 281,593 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of OFG Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $24,993,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of OFG Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $21,094,000. 92.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OFG Bancorp Company Profile

OFG Bancorp is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal subsidiary, Oriental Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Oriental Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgage lending, auto financing, credit cards and other retail banking products. The company also provides wealth management, trust, investment and insurance-related services through its affiliated businesses.

Founded in 1964, OFG Bancorp has expanded its presence in Puerto Rico through organic growth and acquisitions, including the purchase of Scotiabank’s Puerto Rico operations in 2019.