Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BPOP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Popular from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Popular from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $187.42.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $156.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.65. Popular has a 52-week low of $108.74 and a 52-week high of $179.24.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The company had revenue of $846.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $878.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Popular will post 15.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.36, for a total value of $1,499,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,013 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,052.68. This represents a 34.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Javier D. Ferrer sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.43, for a total value of $6,140,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,925,135.54. This represents a 26.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 53,561 shares of company stock worth $9,392,259 in the last 90 days. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Popular in the second quarter worth $54,916,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Popular by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 680,282 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,709,000 after buying an additional 312,984 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 100.9% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 272,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,602,000 after buying an additional 136,984 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 287.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 172,993 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,603,000 after buying an additional 128,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Popular by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 556,630 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,684,000 after buying an additional 110,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

About Popular

Popular, Inc (NASDAQ:BPOP) is a financial services company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1893, the company provides banking and related financial services primarily through Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, its principal subsidiary, and serves individuals, businesses and institutions.

Its products and services include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, personal and business loans, residential mortgages, credit cards, auto financing, investment and wealth-management services, insurance-related offerings and electronic banking solutions.