NewEdge Advisors LLC Has $5.36 Million Stake in First BanCorp. $FBP

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 205,731 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,624 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $5,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FBP. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2,432.7% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,694,920 shares of the bank’s stock worth $122,397,000 after purchasing an additional 4,509,550 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,862,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,858,000 after buying an additional 527,991 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 48.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,661,695 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,854,000 after acquiring an additional 871,860 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,138,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 22.1% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,630,778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,833,000 after acquiring an additional 294,888 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, Director Roberto Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $750,448.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 610,669 shares in the company, valued at $17,391,853.12. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $281,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 230,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,919.62. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,328,248 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $28.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $19.16 and a 52 week high of $29.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.04. 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. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 29.24%.The company had revenue of $264.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.31 million. Analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 27th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 33.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark boosted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of First BanCorp. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Four 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $29.38.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities.

FirstBank’s offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, credit cards, cash management and other business banking services. The company also provides mortgage-related services and insurance products through affiliated operations, along with digital and electronic banking tools.

First BanCorp.