Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $89.71.

Popular Stock Up 1.0 %

Popular stock opened at $88.09 on Tuesday. Popular has a 52 week low of $52.32 and a 52 week high of $89.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.89. Popular had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The business had revenue of $702.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.76 million. On average, research analysts expect that Popular will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total transaction of $51,304.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,272,208.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Popular by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 337 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Popular by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Company Profile

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.