Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $116.00 to $129.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on BPOP. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.63.

Popular Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $103.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.35. The stock has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81. Popular has a 1-year low of $80.60 and a 1-year high of $106.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular will post 8.41 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at $325,569.72. The trade was a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction 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 represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Popular by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,374 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,114,000 after buying an additional 13,504 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 594.2% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,595 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 26,735 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 11,927 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors 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.