EMC Capital Management Has $426,000 Stock Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

EMC Capital Management grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 129.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,904 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,943 shares during the quarter. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FBP. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,464 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 3,230 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 16,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 405.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 133,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 106,841 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FBP opened at $21.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $15.95 and a 12 month high of $22.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.68 and a 200-day moving average of $20.26.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors 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 represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 35.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,011,223.10. This trade represents a 9.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Hovde Group cut their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.40.

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.