Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in First BanCorp. $FBP

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 33.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,518 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 43,662 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of First BanCorp. worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FBP. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 151.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 1,695.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,155 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings 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 worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $24.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $19.16 and a 12-month high of $25.07. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.06.

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

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 35.56%.

About First BanCorp.

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.