Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys 97,000 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 102.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,900 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 97,000 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.12% of First BanCorp. worth $3,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,580 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in First BanCorp. by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in First BanCorp. during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in First BanCorp. by 394.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 3,032 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of FBP traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $19.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,101,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,080,862. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $22.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.56 and a 200 day moving average of $19.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.13%.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total transaction of $951,203.69. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 186,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,874,498.11. This represents a 19.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned 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. 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.