Short Interest in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Declines By 14.1%

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 834,600 shares, a drop of 14.1% from the January 15th total of 972,100 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 500,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BPOP. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

Popular Stock Up 1.4 %

BPOP opened at $104.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $98.03 and a 200-day moving average of $97.55. Popular has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Popular by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in Popular by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Popular by 4.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Popular by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.