Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Receives $186.92 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $187.0833.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Popular from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Popular from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

Popular Stock Performance

Popular stock opened at $168.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.61. Popular has a 1 year low of $108.74 and a 1 year high of $179.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $171.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.68.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $846.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $878.41 million. Popular had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 21.37%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Popular will post 15.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, Director Maria Luisa Ferre sold 3,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.42, for a total value of $593,796.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,781,565.52. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $101,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,624.68. This trade represents a 19.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,561 shares of company stock worth $9,392,259. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Popular by 15,370.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,364,067 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,029,933,000 after acquiring an additional 12,284,146 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Popular by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,962,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $376,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,452 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at about $104,955,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,916,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Popular by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 680,282 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,709,000 after purchasing an additional 312,984 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Popular

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.