Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $113.00.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $91.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular has a 52-week low of $80.60 and a 52-week high of $106.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $98.48 and its 200-day moving average is $97.12.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Sell-side analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of Popular by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Popular by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Popular

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.