Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 43.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 333,677 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 258,634 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $6,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,580 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 394.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 3,032 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total transaction of $214,160.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,656,606.50. This represents a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of First BanCorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

FBP opened at $17.72 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.67. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $22.40. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 18.89%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 39.78%.

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.