First BanCorp. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.16 (NYSE:FBP)

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.16 per share by the bank on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th.

First BanCorp. has increased its dividend payment by an average of 41.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. First BanCorp. has a payout ratio of 35.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First BanCorp. to earn $1.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.8%.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE FBP traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.24. The stock had a trading volume of 879,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 862,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $10.18 and a one year high of $17.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.97.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $302.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.19 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 25.82% and a return on equity of 21.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented 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 lifted their price objective on shares of 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 other First BanCorp. news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total value of $858,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,126,325 shares in the company, valued at $19,339,000.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total transaction of $998,784.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the sale, 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 have sold a total of 132,600 shares of company stock valued at $2,278,784 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First BanCorp. Company 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.