First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP – Get Rating) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,055,011 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,645 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.57% of First BanCorp. worth $14,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 296,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,832,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 13,273 shares of the bank’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 220,154 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 79,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,039,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut First BanCorp. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 0.1 %

FBP stock opened at $12.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.21. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $12.28 and a one year high of $16.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). First BanCorp. had a net margin of 31.85% and a return on equity of 20.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th were given a $0.14 dividend. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.22%.

About First BanCorp.

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First BanCorp (Puerto Rico) is a holding company, which engages in the provision of personal, commercial, and corporate banking services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Mortgage Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations.