Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 65,635 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 615,973 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 65,635 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $10,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,288,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $165,408,000 after purchasing an additional 505,003 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,084,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,053,000 after buying an additional 52,384 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.1% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,721,109 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,166,000 after buying an additional 51,078 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 6.2% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,143,989 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,398,000 after buying an additional 66,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 32.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,034,059 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,918,000 after acquiring an additional 250,577 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, CFO Gonzalez Orlando Berges sold 75,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $1,344,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 277,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,198.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,126,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,339,000.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gonzalez Orlando Berges sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $1,344,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 277,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,198.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 150,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,624,000 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FBP opened at $18.08 on Monday. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $10.18 and a 12-month high of $18.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.14.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $302.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.19 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 25.82% and a return on equity of 21.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

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.