First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) EVP Sells $529,750.00 in Stock

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,011,223.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

NYSE FBP traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $21.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,087,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,111. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $13.89 and a 1-year high of $22.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.40 and a 200-day moving average of $19.47. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.11.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The business had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 35.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 5,054.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,701 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 222.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,952 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 166.7% in the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 2,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in First BanCorp. in the first quarter valued at $110,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FBP. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.40.

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.