First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Holdings Cut by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,276 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,698 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $2,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the first quarter worth about $16,719,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,414,701 shares of the bank’s stock worth $393,154,000 after purchasing an additional 448,845 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 22.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 44.4% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 459,484 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,059,000 after buying an additional 141,261 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased 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. Hovde Group lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

First BanCorp. stock opened at $20.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $14.72 and a 12 month high of $22.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.11.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $234.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.51 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 19.91% and a net margin of 24.94%. First BanCorp.’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 35.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 7,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $164,799.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,011,223.10. This trade represents a 9.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,556 shares of company stock valued at $736,365 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.