Short Interest in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Expands By 27.6%

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the May 15th total of 1,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 677,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Popular from $114.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.14.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $103.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.62. Popular has a 1 year low of $78.23 and a 1 year high of $107.31.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $760.45 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 15.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total transaction of $728,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,851,561.48. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total transaction of $52,215.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,365.72. The trade was a 12.18% 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Popular by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 4.2% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,847 shares of the bank’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Popular by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Popular by 0.3% in the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 62,660 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,788,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.