American Trust Sells 676 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

American Trust reduced its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,505 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 676 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 3,681 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 394.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First BanCorp. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of FBP stock opened at $20.21 on Tuesday. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.56.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. The business had revenue of $248.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.13%.

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.