Prospector Partners LLC Acquires 3,170 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Prospector Partners LLC raised its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 489,495 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 3,170 shares during the quarter. Prospector Partners LLC owned 0.29% of First BanCorp. worth $8,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the second quarter worth $1,490,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 2nd quarter worth $810,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,852 shares of the bank’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the second quarter valued at about $616,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 24.8% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 62,772 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after buying an additional 12,455 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

First BanCorp. stock opened at $20.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.10. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $12.72 and a one year high of $22.12.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.86% and a net margin of 25.91%. The company had revenue of $304.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.26 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 36.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBP has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Hovde Group upped their target price on First BanCorp. from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler began coverage on First BanCorp. in a research report on Monday, August 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First BanCorp. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.83.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In other news, COO Donald Kafka sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.81, for a total value of $1,090,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 174,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,786.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Donald Kafka sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.81, for a total value of $1,090,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 174,589 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,786.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 1,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total transaction of $41,815.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,881,608.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,452 shares of company stock valued at $1,790,066. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.