Citigroup Inc. Buys 32,825 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 339,438 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,825 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $7,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 478,005 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,385,000 after acquiring an additional 10,599 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 67.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 87,587 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 35,424 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 131.4% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 60,595 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 34,413 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the 2nd quarter worth about $146,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,988 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 1,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total value of $41,815.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,881,608.76. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,011,223.10. This trade represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

First BanCorp. stock opened at $20.68 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.11. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $14.86 and a 12-month high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 19.91% and a net margin of 24.94%. The firm had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.36%.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

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.