Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.00.

Popular Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $82.50 on Friday. Popular has a 12 month low of $78.59 and a 12 month high of $106.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $96.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.65. The stock has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 32.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Popular by 15.2% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,507,000 after acquiring an additional 12,494 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Popular by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,769,000 after purchasing an additional 71,782 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Popular by 1,719.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 37,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,553,000 after purchasing an additional 35,699 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,337,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

About Popular

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.