Analysts Set Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) PT at $112.25

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.25.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BPOP. Barclays lifted their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction 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 owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 279.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 38,798 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 28,574 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,298 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,468,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 171.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,441 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,865,000 after acquiring an additional 49,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 28.9% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP opened at $100.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.93. Popular has a 1 year low of $80.60 and a 1 year high of $106.81. The firm has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s payout ratio is 32.71%.

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.