Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Price Target to $19.00

by · The Cerbat Gem

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP – Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $18.50 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.47% from the stock’s current price.

FBP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on First BanCorp. from $17.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on First BanCorp. in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on First BanCorp. from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 24th.

Read Our Latest Report on FBP

First BanCorp. Stock Up 2.3 %

FBP traded up $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $17.20. 1,645,514 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,879. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $10.18 and a twelve month high of $17.23. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.67.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.14. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 22.13% and a net margin of 26.19%. The firm had revenue of $299.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, COO Donald Kafka sold 65,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.79, for a total transaction of $1,026,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 213,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,370,943.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other First BanCorp. news, COO Donald Kafka sold 65,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.79, for a total transaction of $1,026,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 213,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,370,943.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.76, for a total value of $236,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,127,701.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,207,895 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,863 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 17,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 296,802 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,832,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 79,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.80% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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