First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $302.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.19 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.62% and a net margin of 26.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of FBP stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,395,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,712. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $10.18 and a 12-month high of $17.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $16.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $998,784.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,708,007.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total transaction of $164,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,405.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $998,784.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,708,007.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 132,600 shares of company stock worth $2,278,784. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on FBP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First BanCorp. from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

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.