Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP opened at $102.94 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.81. Popular has a 52-week low of $80.60 and a 52-week high of $106.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. On average, research analysts forecast that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders 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 was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,569.72. The trade was a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,325 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,581. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $444,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Popular by 22.6% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the 2nd quarter valued at $569,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,630 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 5,287 shares in the last quarter. 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.