Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 59,954 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 45.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,866 shares of the bank's stock after selling 59,954 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $1,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Amundi lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 173.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 87,309 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 55,379 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,797 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 21,213 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,580 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.00. 1,184,323 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,114,050. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.93. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $16.40 and a 52-week high of $22.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.62.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $248.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.08 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 24.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. First BanCorp.'s payout ratio is presently 39.13%.

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.