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

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $111.57.

BPOP has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Popular Stock Down 0.2 %

BPOP opened at $82.19 on Friday. Popular has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.84. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % 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 Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,286,832 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $873,519,000 after purchasing an additional 56,222 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Popular by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank’s stock worth $394,373,000 after purchasing an additional 201,067 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Popular by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $207,475,000 after buying an additional 10,599 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Popular by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,908,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $179,505,000 after buying an additional 25,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Popular by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $133,446,000 after buying an additional 515,798 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.