AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 52,540 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 260,512 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,540 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $4,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew 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. raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in First BanCorp. by 394.8% in 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 last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP opened at $20.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $16.40 and a 12-month high of $22.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. The company had revenue of $248.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 39.13%.

First BanCorp. 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.