ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 24,783 Shares of First BanCorp. $FBP

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 68.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,864 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,783 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $1,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 151.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 1,695.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,155 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 328.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 2,262 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in First BanCorp. by 56.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 14.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $24.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $23.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 4,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total transaction of $106,881.49. Following the sale, the director owned 637,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,415,739.97. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 34,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.11, for a total value of $754,437.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,391,537.07. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of FBP stock opened at $22.44 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $16.40 and a 1-year high of $23.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.56 and a 200-day moving average of $21.20.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $257.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.18 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 27.48%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 33.49%.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp (NYSE: FBP) is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company offers a comprehensive range of banking services including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, cash management solutions and treasury services. It also provides mortgage origination and servicing, equipment leasing, investment management, and insurance agency services.

In its commercial banking segment, First BanCorp serves small and midsize enterprises as well as large corporate clients, delivering tailored credit facilities, letters of credit, and foreign trade financing.