Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a bullish outlook: Thirteen brokerages give Popular an average “Buy” rating, with a consensus 12-month price target of approximately $186.92 versus the stock’s $168.43 opening price.
• Popular reported quarterly EPS of $4.35, exceeding the $3.72 consensus estimate, while revenue came in below expectations. The bank also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.90, representing a 2.1% annualized yield.
• Institutional investors own 87.27% of Popular’s shares, although company insiders sold nearly $9.3 million of stock during the latest quarter.

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $186.9167.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. 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, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Popular from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Popular from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP stock opened at $168.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.61. Popular has a 12 month low of $108.74 and a 12 month high of $179.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $170.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.82.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $846.92 million during 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 last year, the company posted $3.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular will post 15.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. Popular's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lidio Soriano sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total transaction of $523,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 107,320 shares in the company, valued at $18,727,340. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Javier D. Ferrer sold 35,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.43, for a total value of $6,140,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,925,135.54. This represents a 26.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 52,961 shares of company stock valued at $9,290,985 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Popular by 15,370.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,364,067 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,029,933,000 after acquiring an additional 12,284,146 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Popular by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,489,936 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,057,167,000 after acquiring an additional 37,424 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Popular by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,361,681 shares of the bank's stock valued at $543,117,000 after purchasing an additional 58,452 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Popular by 56.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,962,871 shares of the bank's stock valued at $376,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,452 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Popular by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,405,575 shares of the bank's stock valued at $175,057,000 after purchasing an additional 64,778 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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