Short Interest in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Rises By 38.8%

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,430,000 shares, a growth of 38.8% from the February 28th total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 562,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.00.

Popular Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of BPOP opened at $91.11 on Wednesday. Popular has a 12-month low of $80.60 and a 12-month high of $106.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.88.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in Popular by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Popular by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $166,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

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.