Norges Bank Takes Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,897,522 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $35,275,000. Norges Bank owned 1.16% of First BanCorp. at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FBP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,462,121 shares of the bank's stock valued at $398,981,000 after purchasing an additional 63,304 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 3.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank's stock valued at $194,630,000 after purchasing an additional 347,271 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,724,074 shares of the bank's stock valued at $125,001,000 after purchasing an additional 78,129 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank's stock valued at $92,879,000 after purchasing an additional 112,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,097 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,216,000 after purchasing an additional 37,432 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total value of $214,160.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,656,606.50. The trade was a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First BanCorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of FBP stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $17.84. 209,517 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,201,988. 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 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $22.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $19.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.72.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. First BanCorp.'s payout ratio is 39.78%.

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.