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

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Popular from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Popular Stock Down 0.7 %

Popular stock opened at $99.15 on Friday. Popular has a twelve month low of $75.17 and a twelve month high of $105.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.94. The company has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.62 million. Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Popular will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.70%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Popular by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 835,311 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,867,000 after purchasing an additional 286,450 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 235.5% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 332,093 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,299,000 after buying an additional 233,119 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 23.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,129,000 after buying an additional 164,270 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 10.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,218,828 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,781,000 after buying an additional 113,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Popular during the third quarter worth about $9,115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% 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.