First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05, Zacks reports. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 6.0 %

NYSE FBP opened at $20.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $15.95 and a 1-year high of $22.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.68 and a 200-day moving average of $20.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 35.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FBP. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Hovde Group reduced their price objective 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.20.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

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.