VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $1.82 Million Investment in First BanCorp. $FBP

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 87,500 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,823,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,925,748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $132,767,000 after purchasing an additional 201,674 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,508,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,771,000 after purchasing an additional 48,301 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 3.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,770,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,113,000 after buying an additional 85,017 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.4% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,761,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,775,000 after buying an additional 24,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 6.1% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,592,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,528,000 after buying an additional 91,954 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total transaction of $1,115,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,059,547 shares in the company, valued at $23,627,898.10. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE:FBP opened at $20.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.75. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $22.60.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 24.71%.The firm had revenue of $246.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBP has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial started coverage on First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.33.

First BanCorp. 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.