Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 322,300 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of First BanCorp. worth $5,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in First BanCorp. by 394.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,464 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 3,230 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total transaction of $214,160.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,656,606.50. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FBP stock opened at $18.82 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.12. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.78%.

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.