Summit Global Investments Buys Shares of 62,768 First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 62,768 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 267.2% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 705,075 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,107,000 after purchasing an additional 513,063 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 322,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,988,000 after buying an additional 178,660 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,580 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after buying an additional 21,213 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $3,656,606.50. The trade was a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FBP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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 decreased their price target on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 2.5 %

FBP opened at $18.82 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a PEG 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.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted 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 EPS. Analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. 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. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 39.78%.

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.