First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Key Points

• First BanCorp. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, payable December 11 to shareholders of record November 27. The payment is a 25% increase from the prior dividend and implies a 3.6% yield.
• The dividend appears well covered, with a current payout ratio of 37.2% and six consecutive years of annual increases. Analysts expect earnings of $2.61 per share next year, supporting continued coverage.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.86. Shares recently traded at $27.51 after the bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.63, ahead of estimates.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share by the bank on Friday, December 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. This is a 25.0% increase from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

First BanCorp. has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 6 consecutive years. First BanCorp. has a dividend payout ratio of 37.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First BanCorp. to earn $2.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.7%.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.6%

FBP stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.51. 946,723 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,425,258. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $19.16 and a 52-week high of $29.88. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.64 and its 200-day moving average is $26.19.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $260.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $274.32 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 2.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on FBP. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of First BanCorp. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.86.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. is a bank holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, businesses and government-related entities. The company's offerings include consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, deposit accounts, cash-management services, credit cards, electronic banking and other financial solutions.

FirstBank serves customers through a network of branches, automated teller machines and digital banking channels.

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