Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Price Target to $207.00

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $190.00 to $207.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.51% from the stock’s previous close.

BPOP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $172.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on Popular from $201.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.00.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 178,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,340. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.87. The stock has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.61. Popular has a 12 month low of $108.74 and a 12 month high of $175.12.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.66. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $846.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $865.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Popular will post 15.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 34,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,188,200. The trade was a 39.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $920,762.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,671,480.05. This trade represents a 35.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,962,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $376,314,000 after buying an additional 1,065,452 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,955,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Popular by 85.2% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 680,282 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,709,000 after purchasing an additional 312,984 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Popular by 2,752.6% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 312,447 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,684,000 after purchasing an additional 301,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,841,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Popular

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Popular beat Q2 expectations with earnings of $4.35 per share versus $3.69 expected, and revenue came in at $846.9 million; the company also reported solid profitability metrics, including a 14.53% return on equity. Popular Q2 earnings and conference call
• Positive Sentiment: The bank announced capital actions that should support the stock, including a higher quarterly dividend and a new buyback program, signaling confidence in capital strength and future cash generation. Popular Announces Capital Actions
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target on Popular to $214 from $201 and kept a buy rating, suggesting further upside from current levels. Benchmark price target raise via Benzinga/The Fly
• Neutral Sentiment: Popular also announced a leadership transition, with CEO Javier D. Ferrer set to retire, which may not affect near-term results but adds some succession-related uncertainty. Popular Announces CEO Retirement and Leadership Transition

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.