Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $186.9167.

BPOP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Popular from $178.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $168.43 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.82. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, 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.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 21.37%.The firm had revenue of $846.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $878.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Popular will post 15.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maria Luisa Ferre sold 3,385 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.42, for a total transaction of $593,796.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,781,565.52. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lidio Soriano sold 3,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $523,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 107,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,727,340. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,961 shares of company stock worth $9,290,985. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Xponance LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of Popular by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 7,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Severin Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 1.9% in the first quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 1.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Company Profile

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.