UBS Group Downgrades Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) to Neutral

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Rating) was downgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $57.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $100.00. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.16% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on BPOP. StockNews.com lowered Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Popular from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Popular from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Popular from $80.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Popular from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.20.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP opened at $52.70 on Wednesday. Popular has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $86.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.73 and its 200-day moving average is $70.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.85.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The bank reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $559.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $730.82 million. Popular had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 32.75%. Popular’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Popular will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 394.0% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,108,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,249,000 after buying an additional 883,818 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Popular by 135.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,471,368 shares of the bank’s stock worth $97,581,000 after acquiring an additional 846,247 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Popular by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,880,331 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $567,856,000 after buying an additional 816,384 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $49,188,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Popular by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 745,744 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,458,000 after purchasing an additional 311,204 shares during the last quarter. 86.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Popular

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Popular, Inc operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Popular U.S., and Corporate Group. The Banco Popular de Puerto Rico segment includes commercial banking, consumer and retail banking, and other financial services.