Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 38,606 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 570,009 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 38,606 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.34% of First BanCorp. worth $9,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 56,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,964 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,101,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,511 shares of the bank’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 33,708 shares of the bank’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospector Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 477,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First BanCorp. news, insider Aurelio Aleman 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First BanCorp. news, insider Aurelio Aleman 100,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gonzalez Orlando Berges sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $1,344,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 277,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,198.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,277 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,539. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Hovde Group upped their target price on First BanCorp. from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on First BanCorp. in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.60.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FBP traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.66. The stock had a trading volume of 945,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,060,621. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $12.72 and a 52 week high of $22.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.12.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $304.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.26 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.86% and a net margin of 25.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

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.