First BanCorp. $FBP Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas boosted its stake in First BanCorp by 74.1% in Q4 to 128,580 shares (about $2.67M), and institutional investors now own roughly 97.91% of the stock.
• Multiple analysts have raised price targets and ratings (Hovde, Truist, Wells Fargo, etc.), leaving First BanCorp with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.75.
• First BanCorp beat Q4 earnings expectations ($0.55 vs. $0.52), reported a 17.33% ROE and $257.17M in revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (annualized $0.80, ~3.7% yield).

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 74.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,580 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 54,713 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.08% of First BanCorp. worth $2,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,053,743 shares of the bank's stock valued at $464,235,000 after purchasing an additional 152,742 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,207,765 shares of the bank's stock worth $92,781,000 after buying an additional 148,822 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 31.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,284,146 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,365,000 after buying an additional 548,164 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 8.5% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,005,383 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,259,000 after buying an additional 157,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,404,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on First BanCorp. from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $24.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.75.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of FBP opened at $21.72 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $23.43. The company's fifty day moving average is $21.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 27.48%.The business had revenue of $257.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.18 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 34,122 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.11, for a total transaction of $754,437.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 62,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,391,537.07. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 4,723 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $106,881.49. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 637,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,415,739.97. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First BanCorp. Profile

First BanCorp NYSE: FBP is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company offers a comprehensive range of banking services including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, cash management solutions and treasury services. It also provides mortgage origination and servicing, equipment leasing, investment management, and insurance agency services.

In its commercial banking segment, First BanCorp serves small and midsize enterprises as well as large corporate clients, delivering tailored credit facilities, letters of credit, and foreign trade financing.

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