First BanCorp. $FBP Stake Lifted by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 147.4% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 220,318 shares and bringing its holding to 369,821 shares worth about $7.67 million.
• First BanCorp. reported strong quarterly earnings of $0.57 per share, beating analyst estimates by $0.05, while revenue came in slightly below expectations at $258.64 million.
• The bank also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, implying an annualized payout of $0.80 and a yield of 3.3%. Analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $25.86.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 147.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 369,821 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 220,318 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.23% of First BanCorp. worth $7,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. Boston Partners lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 767.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,262,241 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,832,000 after buying an additional 1,116,791 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 82.9% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,434,382 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,878,000 after buying an additional 649,987 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in 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. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 176.1% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 821,918 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,123,000 after buying an additional 524,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,467,300 shares of the bank's stock valued at $445,017,000 after buying an additional 413,557 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of FBP stock opened at $24.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $19.16 and a 1 year high of $24.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.84.

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

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 payout ratio is 35.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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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