New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $1.55 Million Stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,389 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,328 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $1,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in First BanCorp. in the first quarter valued at $16,719,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,414,701 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $393,154,000 after purchasing an additional 448,845 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 22.9% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,619,842 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,627,000 after purchasing an additional 301,443 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 55.8% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 656,855 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,014,000 after purchasing an additional 235,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 44.4% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 459,484 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,059,000 after purchasing an additional 141,261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of FBP stock opened at $21.10 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $13.89 and a 52-week high of $22.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The business had revenue of $234.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 35.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FBP shares. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 1,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total value of $41,815.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,881,608.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations.