Royce & Associates LP Invests $581,000 in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP acquired 30,324 shares of First BanCorp. valued at approximately $581,000 in the first quarter, highlighting increasing institutional interest in the bank's stock.
• Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First BanCorp.'s price target from $22.00 to $25.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating, indicating optimism about the bank's future performance.
• First BanCorp. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18, representing an annualized yield of 3.39% with a payout ratio of 38.30%.

Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 30,324 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $581,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 103.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 919.3% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,057 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 3,659 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 806.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,711 shares of the bank's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 4,191 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. in the first quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth $168,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of FBP stock traded down $0.34 on Wednesday, reaching $20.94. 1,299,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,055,682. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $16.40 and a 1 year high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.71% and a return on equity of 17.54%. The business had revenue of $246.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

First BanCorp. Profile

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.