Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Barclays

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price target raised by Barclays from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BPOP. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Popular from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Popular from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Popular from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $161.18.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $141.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.59. Popular has a 1-year low of $79.63 and a 1-year high of $149.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.48.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $806.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.55 million. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.70%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 18th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.35%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,611,992.50. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,002.75. This trade represents a 29.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Xponance LLC boosted its position in shares of Popular by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Popular by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,597 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in shares of Popular by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 17,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Popular by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Popular by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.