Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Price Target Raised to $126.00

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price objective raised by Hovde Group from $114.00 to $126.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Hovde Group currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.14.

Popular Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Popular stock opened at $103.80 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.62. Popular has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $107.31.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 15.82%. The business had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $760.45 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total transaction of $728,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,382 shares in the company, valued at $2,851,561.48. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total value of $52,215.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,365.72. The trade was a 12.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in Popular by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Popular during the first quarter worth about $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Popular by 589.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Popular during the first quarter worth about $84,000. 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.