Squarepoint Ops LLC Grows Stock Holdings in First BanCorp. $FBP

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 144.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,787 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,331 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $6,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FBP. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 64.9% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 151.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 328.8% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,262 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised First BanCorp. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on First BanCorp. from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.38.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 0.4%

FBP stock opened at $27.64 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.16 and a fifty-two week high of $29.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 29.24%.The company had revenue of $264.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.31 million. As a group, analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 33.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other news, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 26,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $750,448.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 610,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,853.12. This represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $281,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 230,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,494,919.62. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,328,248 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities.

FirstBank’s offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, credit cards, cash management and other business banking services. The company also provides mortgage-related services and insurance products through affiliated operations, along with digital and electronic banking tools.

First BanCorp.