144,107 Shares in First BanCorp. $FBP Acquired by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 144,107 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,078,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of First BanCorp. at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth $5,222,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,874,000. Novem Group acquired a new position in First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,138,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 147.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 369,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,667,000 after buying an additional 220,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,467,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $445,017,000 after acquiring an additional 413,557 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FBP. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $29.38.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP opened at $29.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.13. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.16 and a fifty-two week high of $29.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.81. 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 issued 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. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The firm had revenue of $264.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.31 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 33.76%.

First BanCorp. 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.