First Trust Advisors LP Buys 527,991 Shares of First BanCorp. $FBP

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,862,288 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 527,991 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 3.14% of First BanCorp. worth $103,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FBP. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,423 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 151.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 328.8% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded First BanCorp. from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.75.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:FBP opened at $28.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.35. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $19.16 and a 12 month high of $29.00.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $264.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.31 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. Analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. First BanCorp.'s payout ratio is currently 35.56%.

About First BanCorp.

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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