First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.18

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 21st,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.18 per share by the bank on Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16.

First BanCorp. has increased its dividend payment by an average of 27.3% annually over the last three years. First BanCorp. has a payout ratio of 31.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First BanCorp. to earn $1.80 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 35.6%.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of FBP stock opened at $19.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $15.78 and a one year high of $22.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.17.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The company had revenue of $234.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hovde Group cut their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.20.

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.