Hovde Group Issues Positive Forecast for First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Stock Price

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) had its price objective increased by Hovde Group from $25.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.25.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP opened at $21.92 on Wednesday. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $22.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.10. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Institutional Trading of First BanCorp.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBP. CWM LLC boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 93.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 2,567 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 34,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 191.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 40,723 shares of the bank’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 26,772 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 8.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,541,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,098,000 after acquiring an additional 616,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Key First BanCorp. News

Here are the key news stories impacting First BanCorp. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — FBP reported $0.55 EPS vs. $0.52 consensus and revenue of $257.2M, topping estimates and showing year-over-year EPS improvement; management hosted an earnings call and released slides. MarketBeat Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Management set a clear 2026 strategy — First BanCorp outlined a plan targeting 3–5% organic loan growth and a 100% earnings-return capital policy, a shareholder-friendly posture that supports dividend/capital-return expectations. Seeking Alpha Strategy Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target increases — Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $24.50 (market perform) and Hovde raised its target to $26.00 (outperform), signaling broker confidence and implying double-digit upside from current levels (about ~12% and ~19% respectively). Benzinga Note on Keefe Bruyette & Woods
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / media coverage and metric reviews — Multiple write-ups (Zacks, Yahoo Finance, MSN) dig into key metrics vs. estimates, credit/deposit trends and a detailed Q4 deep dive; these pieces help investors model forward earnings but don’t introduce new risks. Zacks Earnings Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Full disclosures posted — The earnings call transcript, slide deck and company press release are available for detailed review (useful for modeling credit quality, NIM, and capital return timing). Earnings Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

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.