Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Purchases 39,094 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,208,262 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,094 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.74% of First BanCorp. worth $22,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,462,121 shares of the bank’s stock worth $398,981,000 after acquiring an additional 63,304 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,724,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,001,000 after acquiring an additional 78,129 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,871,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460,789 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,462,862 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,981,000 after acquiring an additional 76,256 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,685,588 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,926,000 after acquiring an additional 248,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 1.0%

First BanCorp. stock opened at $20.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $16.40 and a 1 year high of $22.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.50.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm had revenue of $248.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.