Carlos Power Sells 10,321 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Stock

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total value of $214,160.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,222 shares in the company, valued at $3,656,606.50. The trade was a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Carlos Power also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 5th, Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of First BanCorp. stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FBP opened at $20.83 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $16.12 and a 12 month high of $22.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.63 and its 200-day moving average is $20.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.14.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 39.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,630,000 after purchasing an additional 347,271 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,792,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,779,000 after purchasing an additional 189,148 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,607,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,879,000 after purchasing an additional 112,432 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Hovde Group reduced their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.