Bull Harbor Capital LLC Invests $389,000 in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Popular in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Popular by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BPOP. Truist Financial increased their target price on Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Popular from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $198.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $184.42.

Key Stories Impacting Popular

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong momentum and earnings performance support the stock. Zacks identifies BPOP as a top-ranked momentum stock, while Popular’s latest quarterly results included adjusted earnings of $4.35 per share—well above the $3.72 analyst consensus and up from $3.09 a year earlier. Popular is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock
• Positive Sentiment: BPOP’s valuation remains potentially attractive relative to its growth. The stock’s reported price-to-earnings ratio is approximately 11.8, and its price-to-earnings-growth ratio is below 1, metrics that may appeal to investors seeking earnings growth at a reasonable price. Popular Soars to 52-Week High
• Neutral Sentiment: The 52-week high creates a near-term valuation and profit-taking consideration. Zacks questions whether investors should “cash out” after the recent rally, suggesting that expectations for further gains may already be reflected in the share price. Investors will likely focus on whether Popular can sustain earnings growth and improve revenue, which came in below estimates in the latest quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, Director Maria Luisa Ferre sold 3,385 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 10,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,781,565.52. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total value of $45,108.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $595,425.60. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,761 shares of company stock valued at $1,173,483 in the last quarter. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $175.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.61. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.74 and a fifty-two week high of $176.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.61.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm had revenue of $846.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $878.41 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.72 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

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.