Popular’s (BPOP) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Piper Sandler

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by equities researchers at Piper Sandler in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $190.00 target price on the bank’s stock, down from their prior target price of $198.00. Piper Sandler‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 19.32% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Popular from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on Popular from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $186.75.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $159.24 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.63. Popular has a 12-month low of $108.74 and a 12-month high of $179.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $163.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.52.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $874.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.43 million. Popular had a net margin of 22.36% and a return on equity of 16.08%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Popular will post 15.70 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other news, EVP Luis Cestero sold 8,500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.36, for a total transaction of $1,499,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,824,052.68. This trade represents a 34.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lidio Soriano sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total transaction of $523,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 107,320 shares in the company, valued at $18,727,340. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 53,561 shares of company stock worth $9,392,259 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Popular in the third quarter worth approximately $295,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Popular by 9.7% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,405 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in Popular by 4.5% during the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. bought a new position in Popular during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Popular

Popular, Inc (NASDAQ: BPOP) is a financial services company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, provides banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions, including deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, credit cards and electronic banking services.

The company also offers investment, brokerage, insurance and wealth management services through specialized subsidiaries and affiliated businesses.