First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on FBP. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.38.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE FBP opened at $26.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.16 and a fifty-two week high of $29.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The company had revenue of $264.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.31 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roberto Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $750,448.00. Following the sale, the director owned 610,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,391,853.12. This represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $281,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,919.62. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,328,248 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 12.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,862,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 527,991 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,661,695 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,854,000 after purchasing an additional 871,860 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $42,138,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,630,778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,833,000 after buying an additional 294,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,021,220 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,813,000 after buying an additional 52,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities.

FirstBank’s offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, credit cards, cash management and other business banking services. The company also provides mortgage-related services and insurance products through affiliated operations, along with digital and electronic banking tools.

First BanCorp.