Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 48,700 First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 48,700 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $905,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter valued at $35,275,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,871,338 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460,789 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 267.2% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 705,075 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,107,000 after acquiring an additional 513,063 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth about $4,792,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,685,588 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,926,000 after acquiring an additional 248,335 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FBP traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,007,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,091,217. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $18.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.50.

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

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBP has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 upped their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.