First BanCorp. $FBP Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in First BanCorp. by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 83,704 shares and leaving it with 1.38 million shares valued at about $28.6 million.
• Analysts turned more positive on FBP, with several firms raising price targets and Raymond James upgrading the stock to strong-buy; the consensus rating is now Moderate Buy with an average target price of $25.86.
• First BanCorp. reported strong quarterly earnings of $0.57 per share, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, implying a 3.3% annualized yield.

LSV Asset Management decreased its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,381,500 shares of the bank's stock after selling 83,704 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.87% of First BanCorp. worth $28,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 910,845 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,084,000 after purchasing an additional 114,931 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 402,890 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,884,000 after acquiring an additional 131,293 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 697,827 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,387,000 after acquiring an additional 73,168 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,874,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 176.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 821,918 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,123,000 after acquiring an additional 524,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FBP. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First BanCorp. from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of First BanCorp. from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.86.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE FBP opened at $24.13 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.84. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.16 and a fifty-two week high of $24.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $258.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $263.54 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 28.31%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.56%.

First BanCorp. Company 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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