Verition Fund Management LLC Buys New Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,158 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 5,054.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,701 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 222.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,952 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 166.7% during the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

NYSE FBP opened at $19.81 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.94. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $15.15 and a 52-week high of $22.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The company had revenue of $234.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on FBP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.