First BanCorp. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.16 (NYSE:FBP)

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 0.16 per share by the bank on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

First BanCorp. has raised its dividend payment by an average of 41.0% per year over the last three years. First BanCorp. has a payout ratio of 36.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First BanCorp. to earn $1.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.0%.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

NYSE FBP opened at $21.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.11. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $14.72 and a 12-month high of $22.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.72.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First BanCorp. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.40.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 1,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total value of $41,815.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,881,608.76. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,011,223.10. The trade was a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.