Squarepoint Ops LLC Grows Stake in First BanCorp. $FBP

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 144.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 230,787 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 136,331 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.15% of First BanCorp. worth $6,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in First BanCorp. during the second quarter valued at $78,000. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 18,382 shares of the bank’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $465,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 2,432.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,694,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,397,000 after acquiring an additional 4,509,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of FBP opened at $27.64 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.16 and a fifty-two week high of $29.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $264.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.31 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 18.03%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.76%.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $281,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 230,398 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,919.62. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 26,350 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $750,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 610,669 shares in the company, valued at $17,391,853.12. This trade represents a 4.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $1,328,248 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of First BanCorp. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $29.38.

First BanCorp. Profile

First BanCorp. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities.

FirstBank’s offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, credit cards, cash management and other business banking services. The company also provides mortgage-related services and insurance products through affiliated operations, along with digital and electronic banking tools.

First BanCorp.