Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys New Stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 69,500 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FBP. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,619,842 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,627,000 after acquiring an additional 301,443 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 676,749 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,327,000 after buying an additional 19,290 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 656,855 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,014,000 after buying an additional 235,156 shares during the period. Prospector Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 489,495 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,953,000 after acquiring an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 2.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 478,005 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,385,000 after acquiring an additional 10,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.71. 1,399,288 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,040,458. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.78. First BanCorp. has a 52-week low of $15.15 and a 52-week high of $22.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $234.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.51 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 19.91% and a net margin of 24.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. First BanCorp.'s payout ratio is currently 35.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 1,944 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total value of $41,815.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,881,608.76. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FBP. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group decreased their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.40.

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.