Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Reaches New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Popular (BPOP) hit a new 52-week high — the stock traded as high as $152.95 and last at $150.87 on Tuesday with about 26,483 shares changing hands.
• Analysts have bumped up price targets — multiple firms raised targets (e.g., UBS $170, Barclays $180, Piper $173) leaving an average target of $168 and a consensus of 11 Buys and 1 Hold ("Moderate Buy").
• Company fundamentals remain strong — Q1 EPS of $3.78 beat the $3.30 estimate, with a 20.1% net margin and 14.65% ROE; market cap ≈ $9.7B, P/E 11.05, and a $0.75 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.00, ~2.0% yield).

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $152.95 and last traded at $150.8730, with a volume of 26483 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BPOP shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $156.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.00.

Popular Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $138.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.50. The firm has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.59.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm had revenue of $822.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 18th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Popular's dividend payout ratio is 22.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total value of $312,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at $7,611,992.50. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $481,002.75. This trade represents a 29.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Popular by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,962,871 shares of the bank's stock worth $376,314,000 after buying an additional 1,065,452 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter worth $104,955,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Popular by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 680,282 shares of the bank's stock worth $84,709,000 after buying an additional 312,984 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Popular by 2,752.6% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 312,447 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,684,000 after buying an additional 301,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Popular by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,779,309 shares of the bank's stock worth $225,990,000 after buying an additional 283,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

About Popular

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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