Zacks Research Upgrades First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) to Strong-Buy

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

FBP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised First BanCorp. from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $28.75.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $28.78 on Thursday. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $19.16 and a 1 year high of $29.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.66 and a 200 day moving average of $23.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $264.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.31 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First BanCorp.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBP. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 42,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 8,419 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 96,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 4,236 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 328.8% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,262 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 516,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,911,000 after purchasing an additional 29,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 1,445.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 430,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,249,000 after purchasing an additional 402,488 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp (NYSE: FBP) is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company offers a comprehensive range of banking services including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, cash management solutions and treasury services. It also provides mortgage origination and servicing, equipment leasing, investment management, and insurance agency services.

In its commercial banking segment, First BanCorp serves small and midsize enterprises as well as large corporate clients, delivering tailored credit facilities, letters of credit, and foreign trade financing.