National Bank of Canada FI Decreases Stock Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,040 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,462 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FBP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,275,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 267.2% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 705,075 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,107,000 after purchasing an additional 513,063 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock worth $194,630,000 after purchasing an additional 347,271 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,792,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,779,000 after purchasing an additional 189,148 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on FBP. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of First BanCorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 8.4 %

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $18.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, 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. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $22.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.72.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.18 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 39.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 186,543 shares in the company, valued at $3,874,498.11. The trade was a 19.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.