First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Cut to Moderate Buy at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) from a strong-buy rating to a moderate buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.86.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $26.68 on Tuesday. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $19.16 and a 1 year high of $29.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $264.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.31 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. Research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.76%.

Insider Activity

In other First BanCorp. news, Director Roberto Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $750,448.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 610,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,853.12. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total value of $281,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,398 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,919.62. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $1,328,248. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBP. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in First BanCorp. by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,630,778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,833,000 after purchasing an additional 294,888 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 42.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 205,731 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,363,000 after buying an additional 61,624 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 376.6% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 101,977 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,168,000 after buying an additional 80,582 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in First BanCorp. by 48.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,661,695 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,854,000 after buying an additional 871,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in First BanCorp. by 12.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,862,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,858,000 after buying an additional 527,991 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions.

FirstBank’s offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgage loans, credit cards, automobile financing, cash management, online and mobile banking, and investment and trust-related services. The bank also provides insurance services through affiliated operations.

FirstBank serves customers primarily in Puerto Rico and the U.S.