ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 15,011 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,802 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 15,011 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FBP. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,779,000 after purchasing an additional 189,148 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 405.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 133,171 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 106,841 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 16,338 shares of the bank's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,464 shares of the bank's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 3,230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $19.93. 444,668 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,099,157. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.58. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $248.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.08 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. First BanCorp.'s payout ratio is 39.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.80.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations.