X Square Capital LLC Sells 30,375 Shares of First BanCorp. $FBP

X Square Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 266,909 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 30,375 shares during the quarter. First BanCorp. makes up about 1.8% of X Square Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. X Square Capital LLC owned 0.17% of First BanCorp. worth $5,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 151.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 1,695.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,155 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 328.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,262 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 56.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 14.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.58.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $22.75 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $23.43.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $257.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.18 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 4,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $106,881.49. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 637,019 shares in the company, valued at $14,415,739.97. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 34,122 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.11, for a total value of $754,437.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,391,537.07. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

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.