Short Interest in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Increases By 20.8%

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 9,658,277 shares, a growth of 20.8% from the February 26th total of 7,997,595 shares. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,868,665 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 4,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $106,881.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 637,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,415,739.97. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 34,122 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBP. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 42,927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 8,419 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 96,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 4,236 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 328.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,262 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 6.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 516,986 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,911,000 after acquiring an additional 29,631 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 1,445.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 430,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,249,000 after acquiring an additional 402,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FBP. Truist Financial lifted their price target on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on First BanCorp. from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Hovde Group boosted their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.75.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $21.61 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.62 and its 200 day moving average is $21.14. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $23.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.83.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly 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. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business had revenue of $257.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 37.21%.

About First BanCorp.

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.