First BanCorp. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 (NYSE:FBP)

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the bank on Friday, September 11th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 27th.

First BanCorp. has increased its dividend by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 6 consecutive years. First BanCorp. has a dividend payout ratio of 37.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First BanCorp. to earn $2.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.9%.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP stock opened at $27.59 on Wednesday. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $19.16 and a 1 year high of $27.89. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.33 and a 200 day moving average of $23.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $258.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.54 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 28.31% and a return on equity of 17.51%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,467,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $445,017,000 after purchasing an additional 413,557 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in First BanCorp. by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,862,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 527,991 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,659,149 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,856,000 after buying an additional 171,580 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 48.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,661,695 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,854,000 after buying an additional 871,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 31.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,284,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,365,000 after acquiring an additional 548,164 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp (NYSE: FBP) is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company offers a comprehensive range of banking services including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, cash management solutions and treasury services. It also provides mortgage origination and servicing, equipment leasing, investment management, and insurance agency services.

In its commercial banking segment, First BanCorp serves small and midsize enterprises as well as large corporate clients, delivering tailored credit facilities, letters of credit, and foreign trade financing.