First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Invests $427,000 in First BanCorp. $FBP

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,506 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the second quarter worth $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 328.8% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,262 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,354 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the period. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 1st quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:FBP opened at $20.36 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $22.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.93.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 26.73%.The company had revenue of $30.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.25 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $25.00 target price on First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total transaction of $1,115,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,059,547 shares in the company, valued at $23,627,898.10. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.