Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Down 21.8% in July

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the target of a large decline in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 638,900 shares, a decline of 21.8% from the June 30th total of 817,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 328,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BPOP. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Popular from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.22.

Popular Trading Up 0.6 %

BPOP traded up $0.57 on Friday, hitting $102.78. 410,296 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 409,307. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.80. Popular has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $105.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.86.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.38. Popular had a net margin of 12.20% and a return on equity of 12.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $751.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Popular will post 8.41 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 36.80%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $429,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,856. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $429,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,856. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Manuel Chinea sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $1,088,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,456,700.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,881,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Popular by 57.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $88,859,000 after acquiring an additional 366,870 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular by 395.0% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 429,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,224,000 after acquiring an additional 342,492 shares during the period. Fourth Sail Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,184,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the first quarter valued at approximately $19,997,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

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.