Wells Fargo & Company Boosts First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Price Target to $18.00

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.82% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:FBP traded down $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.85. 258,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,134,800. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.69. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $10.18 and a 12-month high of $17.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $299.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.75 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 26.19% and a return on equity of 21.62%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $998,784.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,501 shares in the company, valued at $1,708,007.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,126,325 shares in the company, valued at $19,339,000.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total transaction of $998,784.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,708,007.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 132,600 shares of company stock worth $2,278,784 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,084,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,053,000 after purchasing an additional 52,384 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 32.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,034,059 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,918,000 after buying an additional 250,577 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 4.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,288,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $165,408,000 after buying an additional 505,003 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 57.8% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 100,719 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 36,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 14.4% in the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 208,646 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after buying an additional 26,192 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.