Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $152.97 and last traded at $152.58, with a volume of 24978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.73.

Popular Trading Up 1.2%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $142.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.63.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $816.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.54 million. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $3,450,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,188,200. The trade was a 39.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,415 shares in the company, valued at $481,002.75. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,951 shares of company stock valued at $4,620,243 in the last ninety days. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Popular

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.