Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.47 EPS

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47, Zacks reports. Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $103.77 on Tuesday. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $80.60 and a fifty-two week high of $105.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.21.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Popular currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.25.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other Popular news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. The trade was a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of Popular 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

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.