Summit Global Investments Buys New Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 62,768 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FBP. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 267.2% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 705,075 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,107,000 after acquiring an additional 513,063 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,630,000 after buying an additional 347,271 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,792,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,779,000 after buying an additional 189,148 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 322,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,988,000 after buying an additional 178,660 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $18.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.93.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 39.78%.

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.