First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,648 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 44,252 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. owned 0.05% of First BanCorp. worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the second quarter worth about $810,000. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 63.3% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 34,616 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 106.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,779,000 after purchasing an additional 189,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,879,000 after buying an additional 112,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 657,459 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,025,000 after buying an additional 25,958 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $19.59 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $19.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.14. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.14. 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. has a one year low of $15.35 and a one year high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The firm had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.36%.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group decreased their target price 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. Piper Sandler dropped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

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.