First BanCorp. $FBP Shares Acquired by Virtus Advisers LLC

Virtus Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 277.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,624 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,217 shares during the quarter. First BanCorp. accounts for 0.8% of Virtus Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Virtus Advisers LLC owned about 0.06% of First BanCorp. worth $2,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,862,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 527,991 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,661,695 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,854,000 after purchasing an additional 871,860 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 22.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,630,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,833,000 after purchasing an additional 294,888 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,021,220 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,813,000 after purchasing an additional 52,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 46.9% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 607,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,986,000 after purchasing an additional 193,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FBP. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of First BanCorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.00.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In other news, Director Roberto Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total transaction of $750,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 610,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,391,853.12. This trade represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $281,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,398 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,919.62. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,328,248 over the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of First BanCorp. stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.18. The stock had a trading volume of 789,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,651,506. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.19. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.28 and a fifty-two week high of $29.88.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $260.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.32 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 28.67%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.76%.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. is a financial holding company and the parent of FirstBank Puerto Rico, which provides retail and commercial banking services. Its offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and business loans, mortgages, credit cards, and digital banking services. Founded in 1948, FirstBank serves customers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with banking operations also in the British Virgin Islands. The company serves individuals, businesses, and public-sector clients through branch, online, and other banking channels.