Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Price Target Raised to $197.00 at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its price target on Popular to $197 from $192 and kept a buy rating, implying about 14.6% upside from the current share price.
• Popular’s latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $4.35 versus the $3.69 consensus, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts at $846.92 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with multiple firms lifting targets and the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating; Popular also announced a higher dividend and a new share buyback program.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $192.00 to $197.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the bank's stock. Truist Financial's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.56% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $198.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Popular from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Popular from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $184.42.

Popular Stock Up 0.6%

Popular stock traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.96. 218,492 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,681. Popular has a 12-month low of $108.74 and a 12-month high of $175.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.87. The company has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.66. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $846.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $865.61 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular will post 15.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $3,450,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,188,200. This represents a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total value of $45,108.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $595,425.60. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Popular by 112.1% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 44,616 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,620,000 after acquiring an additional 23,584 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Popular by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 187,671 shares of the bank's stock valued at $23,369,000 after acquiring an additional 17,148 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,038,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,405,575 shares of the bank's stock valued at $175,057,000 after purchasing an additional 64,778 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in Popular by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 540,646 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,321,000 after purchasing an additional 118,496 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Popular

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Popular beat Q2 expectations with earnings of $4.35 per share versus $3.69 expected, while net income rose 13% year over year, signaling solid operating momentum. Popular Q2 earnings and conference call
• Positive Sentiment: Management also announced a higher quarterly dividend and a new share buyback program, which can support shareholder returns and confidence in capital strength. Popular announces capital actions
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on BPOP to $207 from $190 and reiterated an outperform rating, implying further upside. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark also lifted its target to $214 from $201 and maintained a buy rating, reinforcing the market’s bullish view after earnings. Benchmark price target increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also digesting Popular’s leadership transition and capital plan update, which adds some execution uncertainty but does not appear to have changed the overall positive tone. Popular capital plan and leadership transition
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue came in slightly below consensus at $846.92 million versus $865.61 million expected, which is a modest offset to the earnings beat. Popular Q2 earnings and conference call

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company's product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.

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