23,594 Shares in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 23,594 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,580 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 394.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 3,032 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.80.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:FBP opened at $20.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $16.40 and a twelve month high of $22.40. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.50.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. The business had revenue of $248.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. First BanCorp.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.13%.

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.