Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Update

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 504,500 shares, an increase of 5.3% from the March 31st total of 479,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 484,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Popular from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.89.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP opened at $86.90 on Thursday. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $52.32 and a fifty-two week high of $89.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Popular’s payout ratio is 36.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total value of $51,304.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,272,208.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,260,092.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total transaction of $51,304.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,529 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,208.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Popular by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $90,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $139,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Popular Company Profile

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.