Bailard Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Bailard Inc. reduced its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,500 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 394.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 3,032 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,121,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 30,954 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 6,035 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.2% during 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. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 102,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:FBP opened at $18.75 on Thursday. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $16.24 and a one year high of $22.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 owns 176,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,656,606.50. This represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.