First BanCorp. $FBP Shares Acquired by Monument Capital Management

Monument Capital Management increased its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,274 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 3,584 shares during the quarter. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FBP. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the first quarter valued at $28,344,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the first quarter valued at $15,963,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 61.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,528,642 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,304,000 after buying an additional 580,489 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 1,445.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 430,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,249,000 after buying an additional 402,488 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,925,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $132,767,000 after buying an additional 201,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial began coverage on First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $25.00 target price on First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total transaction 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 approximately $23,627,898.10. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 3.1%

NYSE:FBP opened at $20.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.93. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $16.40 and a 1-year high of $22.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.63.

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

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

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.