R Squared Ltd Takes Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,520 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FBP. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 63.3% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 34,616 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,792,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,879,000 after purchasing an additional 112,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the third quarter valued at about $529,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,011,223.10. The trade was a 9.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:FBP opened at $20.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.08 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.14.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on FBP shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group dropped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.40.

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.