Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

BPOP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.13.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of Popular stock opened at $124.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.68. Popular has a one year low of $78.23 and a one year high of $129.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.89.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.38 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%.During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.1328 per share. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total transaction of $2,240,584.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,083,495.31. The trade was a 42.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Popular by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,847 shares of the bank’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,267 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,115,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,671 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. 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.