Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $163.11 and last traded at $163.0850, with a volume of 8224 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $162.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.73.

Popular Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.28 and a 200 day moving average of $139.07.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $816.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.54 million. Popular had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 20.10%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is 22.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total transaction of $45,108.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $595,425.60. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $920,762.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,671,480.05. This represents a 35.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,870. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in Popular by 1.2% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 7,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Severin Investments LLC increased its position in Popular by 1.9% in the first quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Popular by 1.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the bank’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

About Popular

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.