48,462 Shares in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Purchased by Aquatic Capital Management LLC

Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 48,462 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $901,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FBP. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in First BanCorp. by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 98,810 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,837,000 after buying an additional 22,012 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,216,000 after purchasing an additional 37,432 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter valued at $4,792,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,797 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 21,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter valued at about $420,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FBP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.80.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

First BanCorp. stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.11. 83,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,078,720. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $22.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company's fifty day moving average is $18.61 and its 200-day moving average is $19.49.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $248.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.08 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.13%.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total value of $214,160.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,656,606.50. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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.