First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $20.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 13.54% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $17.62 on Wednesday. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $22.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.70.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 186,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,874,498.11. This trade represents a 19.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,462,121 shares of the bank’s stock worth $398,981,000 after acquiring an additional 63,304 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,630,000 after purchasing an additional 347,271 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,724,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,001,000 after purchasing an additional 78,129 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in First BanCorp. by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,871,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,558,000 after buying an additional 1,460,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,462,862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,981,000 after buying an additional 76,256 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Company 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.