Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Popular, Inc. saw a significant increase in short interest, rising by 33.3% from 1,350,000 to 1,800,000 shares during August, representing 2.7% of the company’s shares sold short.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Popular, with Barclays increasing theirs from $125 to $140, and a consensus target price now at $128.88.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1328 per share, with a payment date set for September 30th, and a payout ratio currently at 29.07%.

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,800,000 shares, a growth of 33.3% from the August 15th total of 1,350,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 509,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 509,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total value of $2,240,584.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,083,495.31. The trade was a 42.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steph & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Popular by 2,158.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Popular by 112.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Popular by 3,925.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 483 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.88.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ BPOP traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $127.99. 1,066,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 558,112. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.68. Popular has a twelve month low of $78.23 and a twelve month high of $128.79. The company's 50 day moving average price is $119.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.71.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.38 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.1328 per share. Popular's payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

About Popular

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.