Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $108.25.

Several analysts recently commented on BPOP shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Popular Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $94.68 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.23. Popular has a 52 week low of $79.01 and a 52 week high of $105.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $736.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.62 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Popular will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Popular’s payout ratio is 38.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total value of $347,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $207,475,000 after purchasing an additional 10,599 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Popular by 10.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,218,828 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $107,781,000 after buying an additional 113,838 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Popular by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,769,000 after buying an additional 71,782 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Popular by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 902,931 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,537,000 after acquiring an additional 67,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,794 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,129,000 after acquiring an additional 164,270 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.