21,395 Shares in First BanCorp. $FBP Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 21,395 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FBP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,467,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $445,017,000 after buying an additional 413,557 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,334,297 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,850,000 after acquiring an additional 126,532 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,659,149 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,856,000 after acquiring an additional 171,580 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,284,146 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,365,000 after acquiring an additional 548,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth about $42,138,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

FBP stock opened at $27.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.09. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $19.16 and a one year high of $27.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $258.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.54 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 28.31%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FBP shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First BanCorp. from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on First BanCorp. in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.88.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp (NYSE: FBP) is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company offers a comprehensive range of banking services including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, cash management solutions and treasury services. It also provides mortgage origination and servicing, equipment leasing, investment management, and insurance agency services.

In its commercial banking segment, First BanCorp serves small and midsize enterprises as well as large corporate clients, delivering tailored credit facilities, letters of credit, and foreign trade financing.