First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Stock Has Average Price Target of $29.86

Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.86.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FBP. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Benchmark increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, August 27th.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

NYSE FBP opened at $25.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.05. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $19.28 and a 52-week high of $29.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.85.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $260.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.32 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 28.67% and a return on equity of 18.87%. Analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 33.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 230,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,494,919.62. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,391,853.12. This represents a 4.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,328,248. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,862,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 527,991 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,661,695 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,854,000 after purchasing an additional 871,860 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 22.1% during the first 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 5.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,021,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,813,000 after purchasing an additional 52,568 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 46.9% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 607,965 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,986,000 after purchasing an additional 193,981 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. is a bank holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, businesses and government-related entities. The company’s offerings include consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, deposit accounts, cash-management services, credit cards, electronic banking and other financial solutions.

FirstBank serves customers through a network of branches, automated teller machines and digital banking channels.