Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price objective hoisted by Benchmark from $214.00 to $216.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the bank’s stock. Benchmark’s target price indicates a potential upside of 27.25% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Popular from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $198.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $187.08.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $169.75 on Monday. Popular has a 12-month low of $108.74 and a 12-month high of $179.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.61.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $846.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $878.41 million. Popular had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 15.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.09 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Popular will post 15.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, EVP Lidio Soriano sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $523,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 107,320 shares in the company, valued at $18,727,340. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Javier D. Ferrer sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.43, for a total transaction of $6,140,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,925,135.54. This trade represents a 26.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,561 shares of company stock worth $9,392,259. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Popular by 15,370.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,364,067 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,029,933,000 after purchasing an additional 12,284,146 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,361,681 shares of the bank’s stock worth $543,117,000 after buying an additional 58,452 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 56.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,962,871 shares of the bank’s stock worth $376,314,000 after buying an additional 1,065,452 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,405,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $175,057,000 after acquiring an additional 64,778 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its position in Popular by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,043,733 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $129,966,000 after acquiring an additional 88,765 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.