First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 11.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,737,363 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,428,631 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.97% of First BanCorp. worth $131,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 63.5% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Shay Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 1st quarter valued at about $131,000. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $166,000. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $169,000. 91.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FBP shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $14.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $17.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

NYSE:FBP opened at $15.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.30. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $10.18 and a 12-month high of $15.49.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 20th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $293.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.42 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 21.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Research analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

About First BanCorp.

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.