Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in First BanCorp. $FBP

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 311,700 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of First BanCorp. worth $6,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 19.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 43,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,978 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 32,512 shares of the bank’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 33,516 shares of the bank’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

First BanCorp. Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:FBP opened at $19.73 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $248.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.25 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 26.73%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Cuts Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

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.