Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 23,594 First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 23,594 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,275,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 267.2% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 705,075 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,107,000 after acquiring an additional 513,063 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter valued at $4,792,000. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 159.8% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 377,327 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,015,000 after acquiring an additional 232,117 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,779,000 after purchasing an additional 189,148 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

First BanCorp. stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 801,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,796. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $22.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.52.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last issued 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. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm had revenue of $248.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.