Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Price Target Lowered to $114.00 at Hovde Group

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Hovde Group from $118.00 to $114.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Hovde Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.29.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP stock opened at $94.84 on Thursday. Popular has a 1-year low of $78.23 and a 1-year high of $106.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Popular by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,401 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 4.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,309 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 50.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,449 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 4,818 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Popular by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,914,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 105.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,256 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 6,281 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.