Norges Bank Takes Position in First BanCorp. $FBP

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,032,726 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $42,138,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FBP. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 151.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 1,695.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,155 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 328.8% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FBP. Raymond James Financial raised First BanCorp. from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised First BanCorp. from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.86.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

First BanCorp. stock opened at $24.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $19.16 and a one year high of $24.73.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 28.31%.The company had revenue of $258.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.56%.

First BanCorp. Profile

First BanCorp (NYSE: FBP) is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company offers a comprehensive range of banking services including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, cash management solutions and treasury services. It also provides mortgage origination and servicing, equipment leasing, investment management, and insurance agency services.

In its commercial banking segment, First BanCorp serves small and midsize enterprises as well as large corporate clients, delivering tailored credit facilities, letters of credit, and foreign trade financing.