First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Given “Neutral” Rating at Piper Sandler

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by stock analysts at Piper Sandler in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $28.00 price target on the bank’s stock, down from their previous price target of $30.00. Piper Sandler‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.97% from the company’s previous close.

FBP has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark upped 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price on First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.00.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:FBP traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $26.18. 235,650 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,451,582. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.07. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $19.28 and a 1 year high of $29.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 28.67%. The firm had revenue of $260.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.32 million. Equities analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $281,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,494,919.62. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roberto Herencia sold 26,350 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total transaction of $750,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 610,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,391,853.12. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,328,248 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First BanCorp.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBP. First Trust Advisors LP grew 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 valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 527,991 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,661,695 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,854,000 after buying an additional 871,860 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in First BanCorp. by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,630,778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,833,000 after buying an additional 294,888 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in First BanCorp. by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,021,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,813,000 after buying an additional 52,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 46.9% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 607,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,986,000 after acquiring an additional 193,981 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First BanCorp.