Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC Has $60.64 Million Stake in First BanCorp. $FBP

Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,911,224 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 141,326 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC owned approximately 1.81% of First BanCorp. worth $60,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the first quarter valued at $1,264,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in First BanCorp. in the first quarter valued at about $15,963,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in First BanCorp. by 46.3% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 593,587 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,379,000 after purchasing an additional 187,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 26.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 420,456 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,060,000 after purchasing an additional 86,779 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

FBP stock opened at $21.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.93. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.91.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $248.71 million for 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group set a $25.00 target price on First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

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.