First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Stock Dropped to “Moderate Buy” by Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial lowered shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) from a strong-buy rating to a moderate buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research cut First BanCorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on First BanCorp. from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First BanCorp. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.25.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE FBP opened at $26.80 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.84. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $19.16 and a 12-month high of $29.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The business had revenue of $264.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.31 million. On average, analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 33.76%.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total value of $281,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,494,919.62. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $750,448.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 610,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,391,853.12. This represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $1,328,248 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First BanCorp.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 12.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,862,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 527,991 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,630,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,833,000 after purchasing an additional 294,888 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,021,220 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,813,000 after buying an additional 52,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 46.9% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 607,965 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,986,000 after buying an additional 193,981 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions.

FirstBank’s offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgage loans, credit cards, automobile financing, cash management, online and mobile banking, and investment and trust-related services. The bank also provides insurance services through affiliated operations.

FirstBank serves customers primarily in Puerto Rico and the U.S.