Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Issues Earnings Results

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.49, Zacks reports. Popular had a net margin of 16.49% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $777.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 EPS.

Popular Price Performance

Popular stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $115.33. The stock had a trading volume of 491,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,399. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.63. Popular has a 1-year low of $78.23 and a 1-year high of $118.54. The stock's fifty day moving average is $108.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.14.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total transaction of $52,215.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $376,365.72. This trade represents a 12.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total value of $728,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,851,561.48. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Popular by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 223,530 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,647,000 after purchasing an additional 84,327 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Popular by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,352 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,715,000 after purchasing an additional 17,729 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Popular during the 1st quarter worth approximately $257,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Popular during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.88.

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.