Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Purchases New Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,229 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in First BanCorp. by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,580 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 394.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of FBP stock opened at $17.10 on Monday. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $22.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.82. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.78%.

Insider Activity

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total value of $214,160.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,656,606.50. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.40.

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.