First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Price Target Raised to $21.00

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) had its price objective increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $17.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.98. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $10.18 and a 52 week high of $17.74. 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. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $229.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

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

Institutional Trading of First BanCorp.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth $32,590,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 2,172.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,039,557 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,101,000 after acquiring an additional 993,819 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 140.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 909,788 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,246,000 after acquiring an additional 531,654 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,288,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $165,408,000 after acquiring an additional 505,003 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 32.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,034,059 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,918,000 after acquiring an additional 250,577 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

About First BanCorp.

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.