Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $1.18 Million Position in First BanCorp. $FBP

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 56,864 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 21,950 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,344,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in First BanCorp. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $15,963,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in First BanCorp. by 61.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,528,642 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,304,000 after acquiring an additional 580,489 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in First BanCorp. by 1,445.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 430,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,249,000 after acquiring an additional 402,488 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 490.6% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 297,662 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,200,000 after acquiring an additional 247,262 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $19.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.95. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $16.40 and a 1-year high of $22.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. 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 $248.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial cut their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

First BanCorp. 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.