UBS Group AG Sells 449,363 Shares of First BanCorp. $FBP

UBS Group AG cut its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 693,892 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 449,363 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.44% of First BanCorp. worth $14,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FBP. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 767.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,262,241 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,832,000 after buying an additional 1,116,791 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 82.9% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,434,382 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,878,000 after buying an additional 649,987 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased 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 worth $50,365,000 after buying an additional 548,164 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 176.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 821,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,123,000 after buying an additional 524,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of First BanCorp. from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.86.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP opened at $23.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.84. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $19.16 and a 12 month high of $24.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.20 and its 200 day moving average is $21.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $258.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.54 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 28.31% and a return on equity of 17.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 35.56%.

First BanCorp. 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.