Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Stock

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $25.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 26.43% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group dropped their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:FBP opened at $20.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.21. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $15.95 and a one year high of $22.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First BanCorp.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBP. State Street Corp raised its position in First BanCorp. by 3.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,630,000 after acquiring an additional 347,271 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,792,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,779,000 after purchasing an additional 189,148 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,607,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,879,000 after buying an additional 112,432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.