First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Invests $427,000 in First BanCorp. $FBP

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,506 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 328.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,354 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $96,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First BanCorp. news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,059,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,627,898.10. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP opened at $20.36 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $16.40 and a one year high of $22.60.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $30.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.25 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 26.73%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $25.00 target price on First BanCorp. in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.25.

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.