Zacks Research Downgrades First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) to Hold

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on FBP. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Benchmark boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.38.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.5%

FBP opened at $26.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.16 and a fifty-two week high of $29.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.34 and a 200-day moving average of $25.38.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $264.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.31 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. Equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in First BanCorp. by 4.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,671 shares of the bank’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in First BanCorp. by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 54,178 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 4,874 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 205,731 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,363,000 after purchasing an additional 61,624 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 144.3% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 230,787 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,017,000 after purchasing an additional 136,331 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the second quarter valued at about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.