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

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 68.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,864 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,783 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $1,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FBP. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 328.8% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,262 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price target on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 target price (up previously from $23.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First BanCorp. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.58.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.1%

FBP stock opened at $22.44 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $23.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.20.

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

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.49%.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 34,122 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.11, for a total value of $754,437.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 62,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,391,537.07. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 4,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $106,881.49. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 637,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,415,739.97. This trade represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First BanCorp. 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.