Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 51,375 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 888,665 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 51,375 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $18,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 209,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,824,000 after purchasing an additional 61,701 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the second quarter valued at about $810,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the second quarter worth about $207,000. Westover Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the second quarter worth about $616,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in First BanCorp. by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 34,616 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FBP. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of FBP stock opened at $18.78 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $15.15 and a 52-week high of $22.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.22 and its 200-day moving average is $20.02. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 19.91% and a net margin of 24.94%. The firm had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.36%.

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.