State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Trims Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,358 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,519 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury owned approximately 0.05% of First BanCorp. worth $1,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 106.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,779,000 after acquiring an additional 189,148 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 32,474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,614,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,792,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.80.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $19.84 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.54. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. 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. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. The company had revenue of $248.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 39.13%.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total value of $214,160.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,656,606.50. This represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.