Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $20.08 Million Stock Position in First BanCorp. $FBP

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 14.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 910,845 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 114,931 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.57% of First BanCorp. worth $20,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FBP. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 151.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 328.8% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,262 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 56.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 93.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the second quarter valued at about $204,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.58.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

First BanCorp. stock opened at $23.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.14. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $16.40 and a one year high of $23.43.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 27.48%.The company had revenue of $257.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 33.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 34,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.11, for a total value of $754,437.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 62,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,391,537.07. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp (NYSE: FBP) is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company offers a comprehensive range of banking services including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, cash management solutions and treasury services. It also provides mortgage origination and servicing, equipment leasing, investment management, and insurance agency services.

In its commercial banking segment, First BanCorp serves small and midsize enterprises as well as large corporate clients, delivering tailored credit facilities, letters of credit, and foreign trade financing.