Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.26 EPS

Key Points

• Popular reported quarterly EPS of $4.21, beating the $3.95 consensus estimate by $0.26 and rising from $3.14 a year earlier. Profitability remained strong, with a 21.37% net margin and 15.34% return on equity.
• Revenue was approximately $816 million, missing expectations by about $55.1 million, creating a notable top-line weakness despite the EPS beat.
• Popular raised its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share from $0.75, implying an annualized dividend of $3.60 and a 2.2% yield. Analysts maintained an overall “Buy” consensus with a $187.42 target price.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.26, Zacks reports. Popular had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 15.34%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.14 EPS.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $161.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.63. Popular has a one year low of $108.74 and a one year high of $179.24. The business's fifty day moving average price is $163.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.24.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Popular's payout ratio is currently 24.32%.

Key Headlines Impacting Popular

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Popular earned $4.21 per share, exceeding consensus estimates of approximately $3.90–$3.97 and rising from $3.14 in the year-earlier quarter. The bank also reported a 21.37% net margin and 15.34% return on equity, signaling solid profitability. Popular Surpasses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company highlighted solid quarterly results and increased shareholder returns, which could support the stock by improving the outlook for dividends or other capital distributions. Popular Reports Solid Q3 Results and Boosts Shareholder Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Popular reported charge-offs for the quarter ended September 30. The release provides an important credit-quality update, but investors will need to assess the charge-off level and trend against provisions and loan growth. Popular Reports Third-Quarter Charge-Offs
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue was approximately $816 million, missing the consensus estimate by about $55.1 million. The top-line miss could weigh on the shares despite the substantial EPS beat. Popular GAAP EPS Beats While Revenue Misses

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on BPOP shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Popular from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $198.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, Director Maria Ferre sold 3,385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.42, for a total transaction of $593,796.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,781,565.52. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Javier D. Ferrer sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.43, for a total transaction of $6,140,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,925,135.54. This represents a 26.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 53,561 shares of company stock worth $9,392,259 in the last quarter. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc NASDAQ: BPOP is a financial services company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its principal subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, provides banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions, including deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, credit cards and electronic banking services.

The company also offers investment, brokerage, insurance and wealth management services through specialized subsidiaries and affiliated businesses.

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