Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BPOP. Citigroup decreased their target price on Popular from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Popular from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

Popular Stock Performance

Popular stock opened at $156.29 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.65. Popular has a 1 year low of $108.74 and a 1 year high of $179.24. The company has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.63.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The firm had revenue of $846.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $878.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.09 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Popular will post 15.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, Director Maria Ferre sold 3,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.42, for a total value of $593,796.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,781,565.52. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Javier Ferrer sold 35,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.43, for a total value of $6,140,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,925,135.54. This trade represents a 26.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 53,561 shares of company stock worth $9,392,259. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 97.2% during the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 30.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Popular by 86.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Popular in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Popular by 5.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,458 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc (NASDAQ:BPOP) is a financial services company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1893, the company provides banking and related financial services primarily through Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, its principal subsidiary, and serves individuals, businesses and institutions.

Its products and services include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, personal and business loans, residential mortgages, credit cards, auto financing, investment and wealth-management services, insurance-related offerings and electronic banking solutions.