Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Has Average Target Price of $187.08

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $187.42.

A number of analysts recently commented on BPOP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Popular from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Rodriguez sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $101,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,624.68. This represents a 19.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lidio Soriano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total transaction of $523,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 107,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,727,340. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,561 shares of company stock valued at $9,392,259. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 465,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,486,000 after buying an additional 35,226 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Popular by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,405,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $175,057,000 after buying an additional 64,778 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Popular in the 2nd quarter worth $54,916,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Popular in the 4th quarter worth $104,955,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Popular by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 680,282 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,709,000 after acquiring an additional 312,984 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $160.48 on Friday. Popular has a 1-year low of $108.74 and a 1-year high of $179.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $169.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.78. The company has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.60.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $846.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business posted $3.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Popular will post 15.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.32%.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc (NASDAQ:BPOP) is a financial services holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1893, the company operates primarily through Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, one of the largest banking institutions in Puerto Rico.

Banco Popular provides a broad range of financial products and services for individuals, businesses and government entities. Its offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, credit cards, auto financing, investment services, insurance and trust services.