First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $302.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.19 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 25.82%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP traded down $0.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $17.34. The company had a trading volume of 79,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,359. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.93. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.18 and a fifty-two week high of $17.74.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is presently 36.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $998,784.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,501 shares in the company, valued at $1,708,007.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total transaction of $998,784.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,501 shares in the company, valued at $1,708,007.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $256,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 246,930 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 132,600 shares of company stock valued at $2,278,784. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

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.