Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Benchmark upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $173.66 and last traded at $172.6640, with a volume of 9961 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $171.01.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Popular from $173.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Popular from $178.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $141.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $920,762.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,671,480.05. This trade represents a 35.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total value of $45,108.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,960 shares in the company, valued at $595,425.60. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870 in the last three months. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Popular News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark upgraded Popular, Inc. (BPOP) to strong-buy, which can boost investor confidence ahead of earnings and suggests Wall Street sees additional upside from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage from Zacks says Popular (BPOP) reports next week and that Wall Street expects earnings growth, but the setup does not look especially favorable for a clear earnings beat, keeping expectations balanced going into the release. Popular (BPOP) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Another brief note says Popular (BPOP) is expected to post earnings on Thursday, reinforcing that the stock is trading on pre-earnings anticipation rather than a new fundamental announcement. Popular (BPOP) Expected to Post Earnings on Thursday

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Down 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.42.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. Popular had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 20.10%.The firm had revenue of $816.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

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.