SummerHaven Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in First BanCorp. $FBP

SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 41,834 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,102,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FBP. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 12.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,862,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 527,991 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,661,695 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,854,000 after acquiring an additional 871,860 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 294,888 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,021,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,813,000 after acquiring an additional 52,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 607,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,986,000 after acquiring an additional 193,981 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $281,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,919.62. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $750,448.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 610,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,391,853.12. This trade represents a 4.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $1,328,248 over the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded First BanCorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Raymond James Financial lowered First BanCorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Benchmark increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on First BanCorp. from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.86.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP opened at $27.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.03. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $19.16 and a 1 year high of $29.88.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $264.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.31 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 2.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.76%.

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.