Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.10, Zacks reports. Popular had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 17.63%.The company had revenue of $817.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $803.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Popular’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Popular Trading Down 0.2%

BPOP opened at $113.80 on Friday. Popular has a 12-month low of $78.23 and a 12-month high of $129.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.25. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.68.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.1328 per share. Popular’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Popular from $135.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Popular in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total transaction of $2,240,584.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,083,495.31. This represents a 42.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Popular by 63.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,515 shares of the bank’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Popular during the second quarter valued at about $816,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in Popular by 88.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 6,009 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Popular by 1.0% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 26,095 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,879,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Popular by 3.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,716 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.