Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $168.7273.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BPOP. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Popular from $156.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research cut Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $3,450,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,188,200. This represents a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $920,762.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,671,480.05. This represents a 35.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 29,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,870 over the last 90 days. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 140.1% during the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 45,170 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,737,000 after buying an additional 26,354 shares during the last quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter valued at about $29,115,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 44,616 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,620,000 after buying an additional 23,584 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Popular by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 187,671 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,369,000 after buying an additional 17,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fieldview Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 67.5% during the third quarter. Fieldview Capital Management LLC now owns 37,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,755,000 after buying an additional 15,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $156.15 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $147.26 and its 200 day moving average is $135.84. Popular has a 12 month low of $102.56 and a 12 month high of $159.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.16%.

Trending Headlines about Popular

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Popular (BPOP) as a strong momentum stock and a potential top pick for momentum investors, which can attract trader and quant-driven buying. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: A second Zacks piece reinforced that BPOP screens well on style and momentum metrics, which may be helping sustain investor interest in the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: TipRanks reported that Popular, Inc. disclosed a third-party cybersecurity incident affecting customers, but the available details suggest the issue is tied to a vendor rather than an internal breach. Investors may be watching for any financial, legal, or reputational fallout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent chatter about short interest showed no meaningful data change, so it does not appear to be a major price driver today.

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.