New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $1.51 Million Stock Position in First BanCorp. $FBP

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,321 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 758 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $1,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 103.4% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 90,641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 43,957 shares of the bank’s stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 15,412 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in First BanCorp. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in First BanCorp. by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 953,755 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,283,000 after acquiring an additional 27,658 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

NYSE:FBP opened at $20.50 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.75. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $16.40 and a twelve month high of $22.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 24.71%.The firm had revenue of $246.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FBP. Truist Financial began coverage on First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $25.00 price objective on First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Five equities 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.33.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In related news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total value of $1,115,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,059,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,627,898.10. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First BanCorp. Company 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.