First BanCorp. $FBP Shares Sold by Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP

Key Points

• Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP reduced its stake in First BanCorp. by 60.8%, selling 16,797 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 10,832 shares valued at $208,000.
• Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target for First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• First BanCorp. reported earnings of $0.50 per share, exceeding estimates, with a quarterly dividend of $0.18 set to be paid on September 12th.

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP decreased its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 60.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,832 shares of the bank's stock after selling 16,797 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP's holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 3.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,770,605 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,113,000 after purchasing an additional 85,017 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 264.6% in the first quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 42,577 shares of the bank's stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 30,898 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. in the first quarter worth $28,344,000. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 61,677 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 13.9% in the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 781,596 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,983,000 after purchasing an additional 95,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total transaction of $1,115,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,059,547 shares in the company, valued at $23,627,898.10. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 0.6%

FBP stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $22.18. 272,107 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,180,625. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $22.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.02. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $246.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.73 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 24.71%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

First BanCorp. Company 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.