First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $24.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on FBP. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of FBP opened at $20.56 on Wednesday. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $15.15 and a twelve month high of $22.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.51 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 35.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,011,223.10. This trade represents a 9.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBP. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.5% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 57,876 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 8.9% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,852 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. FCG Investment Co boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.8% in the second quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 30,111 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.9% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 160,254 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.