Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Gap Down to $85.25

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $85.25, but opened at $82.03. Popular shares last traded at $87.74, with a volume of 52,693 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BPOP shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays started coverage on Popular in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.63.


Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Popular

Popular Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.82.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $702.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.76 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.63% and a net margin of 13.86%. Analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total transaction of $51,304.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,529 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,208.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total transaction of $51,304.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,529 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,208.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter worth $1,563,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 64.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 726,743 shares of the bank's stock valued at $45,792,000 after acquiring an additional 286,119 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 253.3% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 18,568 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,524,000 after acquiring an additional 13,312 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 34.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 503,917 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,752,000 after acquiring an additional 128,304 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter valued at $1,151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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