NewEdge Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in First BanCorp. $FBP

NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 205,731 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 61,624 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of First BanCorp. worth $5,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 144.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 230,787 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,017,000 after acquiring an additional 136,331 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. in the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.0% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 18,382 shares of the bank's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the second quarter valued at $465,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2,432.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,694,920 shares of the bank's stock worth $122,397,000 after buying an additional 4,509,550 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total value of $281,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,494,919.62. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $750,448.00. Following the sale, the director owned 610,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,391,853.12. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $1,328,248 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded First BanCorp. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Benchmark boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $29.38.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP opened at $28.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $19.16 and a 1 year high of $29.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.04.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The company had revenue of $264.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.31 million. Analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 27th. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.76%.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities.

FirstBank's offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, credit cards, cash management and other business banking services. The company also provides mortgage-related services and insurance products through affiliated operations, along with digital and electronic banking tools.

First BanCorp.

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