Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $304,000 Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,338 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,837 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FBP. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 222.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,952 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 166.7% in the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on FBP. Hovde Group cut their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 1.0 %

FBP opened at $21.01 on Thursday. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $15.95 and a twelve month high of $22.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 35.36%.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In other news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. 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.