Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Buys Shares of 3,137 First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,137 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,852 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in First BanCorp. in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in First BanCorp. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 160,254 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 5,054.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,701 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 222.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,952 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.4 %

First BanCorp. stock opened at $18.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.99. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $15.15 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced 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 note on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,011,223.10. This trade represents a 9.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.