Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $104.88.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays cut their target price on Popular from $117.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Popular from $105.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. This represents a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of Popular 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Popular by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,475,000 after buying an additional 10,599 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 10.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,218,828 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,781,000 after acquiring an additional 113,838 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 7.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,769,000 after acquiring an additional 71,782 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 8.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 902,931 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,537,000 after acquiring an additional 67,620 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Popular by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,129,000 after acquiring an additional 164,270 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $95.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.79. Popular has a 52 week low of $71.08 and a 52 week high of $105.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.49 and a 200-day moving average of $94.15.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.62 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. Popular’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Popular will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Popular’s payout ratio is 33.70%.

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.