Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.42 Million in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 86,300 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,221,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,679,620 shares of the bank’s stock worth $179,477,000 after buying an additional 1,097,862 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,473,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 389.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 904,256 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,864,000 after buying an additional 719,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,643,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $323,327,000 after buying an additional 544,469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In other news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,405.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,405.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $256,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 246,930 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 132,600 shares of company stock worth $2,278,784 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FBP opened at $16.91 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $10.18 and a 12 month high of $17.70. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.16.

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

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.16 dividend. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

First BanCorp. Profile

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.