Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $6.58 Million Stock Position in First BanCorp. $FBP

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 89.8%, owning 315,805 shares valued at $6.58 million.
• Wells Fargo raised its target price for First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 with an "overweight" rating, reflecting optimism about the company's performance.
• First BanCorp. declared a $0.23 quarterly dividend, up from $0.18, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.2%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,805 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 149,387 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.20% of First BanCorp. worth $6,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 43,957 shares of the bank's stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 15,412 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,637 shares of the bank's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 3,703.7% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 60,099 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 58,519 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in First BanCorp. during the 1st quarter worth about $581,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,592,504 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,528,000 after buying an additional 91,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three investment 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.00.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

First BanCorp. stock opened at $21.98 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $16.40 and a 1 year high of $22.60. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50-day moving average is $21.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.32.

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

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In related news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total value of $1,115,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,059,547 shares in the company, valued at $23,627,898.10. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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