Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Buys 8,170 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 69.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,890 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,170 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,863 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its position in First BanCorp. by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 17,010 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.3% in the second quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 296,802 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,832,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.5% during the first quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 79,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.2% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,150 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $16.44 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.18 and a fifty-two week high of $17.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.81.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.62% and a net margin of 26.19%. The company had revenue of $299.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. On average, analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,126,325 shares in the company, valued at $19,339,000.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,126,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,339,000.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,405.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 132,600 shares of company stock valued at $2,278,784 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations.