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

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

First BanCorp. Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of FBP stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $17.34. 79,055 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,113,359. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.16. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.18 and a fifty-two week high of $17.74. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.77.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In related news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,405.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total transaction of $164,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,405.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total value of $858,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,126,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,339,000.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 132,600 shares of company stock valued at $2,278,784 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.