ProShare Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in First BanCorp. $FBP

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,915 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 29,949 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,467,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $445,017,000 after acquiring an additional 413,557 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,207,765 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,781,000 after acquiring an additional 148,822 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,284,146 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,365,000 after acquiring an additional 548,164 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,005,383 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,259,000 after acquiring an additional 157,721 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 82.9% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,434,382 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,878,000 after acquiring an additional 649,987 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP stock opened at $24.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $22.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.77. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $19.16 and a 1 year high of $24.64.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $258.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.54 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 28.31%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 2.25 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FBP shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded First BanCorp. from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First BanCorp. from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Hovde Group increased their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.86.

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.