American Century Companies Inc. Has $157.10 Million Stock Holdings in First BanCorp. $FBP

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,541,918 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 616,170 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 4.70% of First BanCorp. worth $157,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 0.7% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,508,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,771,000 after acquiring an additional 48,301 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,770,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,113,000 after purchasing an additional 85,017 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in First BanCorp. by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,845,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,006 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,761,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,775,000 after purchasing an additional 24,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,592,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,528,000 after purchasing an additional 91,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $20.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.98. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $16.40 and a twelve month high of $22.60.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $30.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.25 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 26.73%.During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

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.