Boston Partners Acquires 75,026 Shares of First BanCorp. $FBP

Boston Partners grew its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 106.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 145,450 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 75,026 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.09% of First BanCorp. worth $3,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FBP. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.8% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 43,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,978 shares of the bank’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 32,512 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 33,516 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 1.5%

First BanCorp. stock opened at $19.73 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $22.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.95.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $248.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.25 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 26.73% and a return on equity of 17.45%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued 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 3.7%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

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.