Insider Selling: First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) EVP Sells 45,797 Shares of Stock

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total transaction of $951,203.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 186,543 shares in the company, valued at $3,874,498.11. This trade represents a 19.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Carlos Power also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 7th, Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of First BanCorp. stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total transaction of $214,160.75.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

First BanCorp. stock opened at $20.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.26. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.12 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock worth $194,630,000 after purchasing an additional 347,271 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,879,000 after buying an additional 112,432 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 1.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,169,168 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,751,000 after buying an additional 16,432 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,097 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,216,000 after acquiring an additional 37,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 676,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,327,000 after acquiring an additional 19,290 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FBP. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.40.

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.