Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $106.58 and last traded at $106.54, with a volume of 129095 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.25.

Popular Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $98.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.73.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Popular by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,286,832 shares of the bank’s stock worth $873,519,000 after acquiring an additional 56,222 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Popular by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank’s stock worth $394,373,000 after acquiring an additional 201,067 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Popular by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,475,000 after acquiring an additional 10,599 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Popular by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,908,406 shares of the bank’s stock worth $179,505,000 after acquiring an additional 25,222 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Popular by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank’s stock worth $133,446,000 after acquiring an additional 515,798 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.