Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the December 31st total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 529,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. This represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,325 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,581. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Popular by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 15,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 647.6% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 19,775 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 17,130 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 1,938.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,597 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Popular by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Popular by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 22,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Popular stock opened at $99.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.44. The company has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.82. Popular has a 1 year low of $80.60 and a 1 year high of $106.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

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.