Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Boosts Stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,208,262 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 39,094 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.74% of First BanCorp. worth $22,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 98,810 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 22,012 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,216,000 after purchasing an additional 37,432 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth $4,792,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,797 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 21,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth $420,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.80.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of FBP stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $21.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,073,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,096,724. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $16.40 and a one year high of $22.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $18.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93.

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

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 39.13%.

First BanCorp. Company 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.