Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Makes New Investment in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 14,384 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 390,355 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,257,000 after acquiring an additional 30,713 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 27,629 shares of the bank's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,976 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,462,121 shares of the bank's stock worth $398,981,000 after buying an additional 63,304 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 128.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 41,897 shares of the bank's stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 23,567 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter valued at $668,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total transaction of $214,160.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,222 shares in the company, valued at $3,656,606.50. The trade was a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.10. 1,751,277 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,039,476. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.12. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $22.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.83.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 39.78%.

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.