Short Interest in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Declines By 28.9%

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 704,000 shares, a decline of 28.9% from the October 15th total of 990,200 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 486,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.88.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP stock traded down $2.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $95.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,211. Popular has a 1-year low of $71.08 and a 1-year high of $105.01. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $96.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.90.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.62 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 12.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Popular will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total transaction of $577,499.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,387.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total transaction of $577,499.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,387.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,490,403.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,242 shares of company stock worth $1,102,880 over the last 90 days. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Popular during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Popular in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. 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.