First BanCorp. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.16 (NYSE:FBP)

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.16 per share by the bank on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th.

First BanCorp. has raised its dividend payment by an average of 41.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. First BanCorp. has a payout ratio of 35.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First BanCorp. to earn $1.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.8%.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:FBP traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.24. 879,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 862,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.77. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $10.18 and a 52-week high of $17.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.06. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 25.82%. The business had revenue of $302.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.19 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $998,784.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,708,007.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,405.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 132,600 shares of company stock valued at $2,278,784 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FBP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday.

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.