Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Price Target Raised to $115.00

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $110.00 to $115.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.25.

Popular Stock Up 1.2 %

Popular stock opened at $91.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.45. Popular has a twelve month low of $79.01 and a twelve month high of $105.01.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. The firm had revenue of $736.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Popular will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.04%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other news, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total value of $347,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. This represents a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the third quarter valued at about $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

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.