Hovde Group Has Lowered Expectations for Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Price

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Hovde Group from $118.00 to $114.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the bank's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BPOP. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.14.

Popular Stock Up 0.7 %

Popular stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $96.80. The stock had a trading volume of 150,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,556. The company has a 50-day moving average of $90.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.21. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $78.23 and a fifty-two week high of $106.81. The company has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. Popular's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Popular in the first quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,401 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,901,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,309 shares of the bank's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Popular by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,449 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,335,000 after buying an additional 4,818 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Popular by 7.5% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,725 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit.