Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Up 7.4% in January

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) saw a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the December 31st total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 529,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,490,403.40. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,325 shares of company stock worth $1,565,581. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 235.5% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 332,093 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,299,000 after acquiring an additional 233,119 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Popular during the third quarter worth about $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Popular by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,954,000 after purchasing an additional 84,839 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,385,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Popular by 304.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,042,000 after buying an additional 75,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Down 2.9 %

BPOP traded down $3.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $99.91. 454,915 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 480,801. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $97.36 and its 200 day moving average is $97.44. Popular has a 12 month low of $80.60 and a 12 month high of $106.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 32.71%.

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.