Insider Selling: First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) EVP Sells 45,797 Shares of Stock

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 186,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,874,498.11. The trade was a 19.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Carlos Power also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 7th, Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of First BanCorp. stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total value of $214,160.75.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP traded up $0.36 on Tuesday, hitting $20.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 640,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,328. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.24. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $16.12 and a 1 year high of $22.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Remove Ads

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First BanCorp.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 27,629 shares of the bank's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 2,976 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,462,121 shares of the bank's stock valued at $398,981,000 after buying an additional 63,304 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in First BanCorp. by 128.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 41,897 shares of the bank's stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 23,567 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $668,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $636,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group cut their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.40.

About First BanCorp.

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.