Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Earns Outperform Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $110.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price target of $103.00.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $99.89.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of Popular stock opened at $86.58 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.61 and a 200 day moving average of $79.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.82. Popular has a 1 year low of $52.32 and a 1 year high of $89.70.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $702.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.76 million. Popular had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 11.95%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Popular will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.80%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,260,092.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total value of $51,304.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,529 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,208.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 55.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter worth approximately $139,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit.