First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $260.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.32 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 29.24%.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $27.55. 798,357 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,424,107. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $19.16 and a 1 year high of $29.88. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.19.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 27th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 33.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut First BanCorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Benchmark upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on First BanCorp. from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were 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 directly owned 230,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,919.62. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total transaction of $750,448.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 610,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,853.12. This represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock worth $1,328,248 in the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp. is a bank holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, businesses and government-related entities. The company’s offerings include consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, deposit accounts, cash-management services, credit cards, electronic banking and other financial solutions.

FirstBank serves customers through a network of branches, automated teller machines and digital banking channels.