SG Americas Securities LLC Has $2.48 Million Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 405.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,171 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 106,841 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.08% of First BanCorp. worth $2,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FBP. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 60,325 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter valued at $4,792,000. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,614,000. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 32,474 shares of the bank's stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,011,223.10. The trade was a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of FBP stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $20.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,219,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,010. 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. has a 1-year low of $15.95 and a 1-year high of $22.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.67 and a 200 day moving average of $20.23.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

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

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.