First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 26.19% and a return on equity of 21.62%. The firm had revenue of $302.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 EPS.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

FBP traded up $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.45. The stock had a trading volume of 301,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,112,501. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.16. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $10.18 and a 12 month high of $17.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.92.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 50,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,405.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total transaction of $164,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 50,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,405.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total transaction of $256,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 246,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,227,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 132,600 shares of company stock worth $2,278,784 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.