Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Now Rated "Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Popular a consensus “Buy”: Of 13 analysts, 11 recommend buy, one strong buy and one hold; the average 12-month price target is $186.83.
• Popular reported quarterly EPS of $4.21, beating the $3.95 consensus, while revenue of $874.59 million fell short of the $904.43 million estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, equivalent to $3.60 annually and a 2.3% yield.

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $186.83.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Popular from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Popular from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th.

Popular Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $156.52 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $160.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.94. The company has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.63. Popular has a 12-month low of $109.01 and a 12-month high of $179.24.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.26. Popular had a net margin of 22.36% and a return on equity of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $874.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $904.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Popular will post 16.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Popular's payout ratio is presently 22.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Javier D. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,478 shares in the company, valued at $16,925,135.54. This trade represents a 26.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lidio Soriano sold 3,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $523,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 107,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,727,340. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 38,600 shares of company stock valued at $6,764,824 over the last 90 days. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular by 4.5% in the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the bank's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Popular by 3.1% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,309 shares of the bank's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position 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. IFP Advisors Inc raised 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 purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 7,262 shares of the bank's stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1893, it provides banking and other financial services primarily in Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland.

Its principal subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, serves individuals and businesses with consumer and commercial banking, mortgage lending, and related financial services. Popular also operates Popular Bank in the mainland United States and provides auto financing through Popular Auto.

Ignacio Alvarez is Popular's president and chief executive officer.

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