Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Now Covered by Analysts at UBS Group

Stock analysts at UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) in a report issued on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on BPOP. Barclays boosted their price objective on Popular from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.00.

Popular Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ BPOP traded down $1.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.73. The stock had a trading volume of 69,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 427,556. The company has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.33. Popular has a twelve month low of $79.01 and a twelve month high of $105.01.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. The company had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Popular will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,569.72. This represents a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total value of $347,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,403.40. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Popular by 304.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,042,000 after buying an additional 75,164 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter valued at about $1,635,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter valued at about $81,000. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Popular by 15.2% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,507,000 after buying an additional 12,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 8.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,099 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,024,000 after buying an additional 4,699 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Popular

Popular, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit.