Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Buys 544 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,681 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $68,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock worth $194,630,000 after buying an additional 347,271 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,879,000 after purchasing an additional 112,432 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,169,168 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,751,000 after purchasing an additional 16,432 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 676,749 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,327,000 after purchasing an additional 19,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,779,000 after purchasing an additional 189,148 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of FBP stock opened at $20.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.63 and a 200-day moving average of $20.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $16.24 and a 1-year high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 186,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,874,498.11. This represents a 19.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

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.