Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $148.24 and last traded at $148.0450, with a volume of 67231 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $145.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BPOP shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Popular from $153.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Popular from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Popular from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Popular from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $155.73.

Popular Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.67.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The business had revenue of $815.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 24.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total value of $312,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at $7,611,992.50. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.84, for a total transaction of $114,840.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,604 shares in the company, valued at $299,043.36. This trade represents a 27.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 28,360 shares of company stock valued at $3,265,040 in the last three months. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Popular by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,489,936 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,057,167,000 after purchasing an additional 37,424 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Popular by 56.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 18.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,779,309 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $225,990,000 after acquiring an additional 283,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Popular by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,901 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $147,471,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 14.0% in the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,082,018 shares of the bank’s stock worth $119,249,000 after acquiring an additional 132,826 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

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.