Range Financial Group LLC Buys New Shares in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 86,801 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,614,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 48,460 shares of the bank’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 2,166 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.3% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 56,040 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 2,814 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 22.9% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,619,842 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,627,000 after purchasing an additional 301,443 shares during the last quarter. X Square Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 45.2% during the second quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 351,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,423,000 after purchasing an additional 109,340 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $207,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of First BanCorp. stock traded down $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $18.38. 1,251,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 842,293. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $15.15 and a one year high of $22.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.00 and its 200-day moving average is $20.11. 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 market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.12.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.36%.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,011,223.10. This trade represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First BanCorp. 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.