Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Reduces Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. trimmed its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 31.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 318,210 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 149,300 shares during the period. First BanCorp. makes up 1.3% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned about 0.19% of First BanCorp. worth $6,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 69.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 77,452 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 31,692 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 41.9% during 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. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 131.4% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 60,595 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 34,413 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 676,817 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,871,000 after purchasing an additional 60,844 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. during the 2nd quarter worth $810,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 1,944 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total value of $41,815.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,881,608.76. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,556 shares of company stock worth $736,365. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FBP shares. Piper Sandler decreased 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 note on Thursday, October 24th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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 Thursday, October 24th. Two 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, First BanCorp. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.0 %

FBP stock opened at $20.94 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $14.72 and a one year high of $22.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.43 and a 200-day moving average of $19.56.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The company had revenue of $234.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.36%.

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.