Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 349,492 Shares of First BanCorp. $FBP

Verition Fund Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,934,654 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 349,492 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 1.22% of First BanCorp. worth $40,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 959,889 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,898,000 after purchasing an additional 47,048 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,381,000. Fieldview Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Fieldview Capital Management LLC now owns 126,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,622,000 after buying an additional 8,972 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter worth $4,310,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 311,552 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,458,000 after acquiring an additional 69,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded First BanCorp. from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised First BanCorp. from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $25.86.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of FBP stock opened at $25.49 on Monday. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $19.16 and a 1-year high of $25.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.67 and a 200-day moving average of $22.14.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.