Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,750,000 shares, a drop of 8.9% from the October 15th total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 375,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BPOP. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Popular in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Popular from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Popular from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jorge J. Garcia sold 1,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total transaction of $87,018.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $613,365.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Friday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.40, for a total transaction of $450,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 37,387 shares in the company, valued at $2,407,722.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jorge J. Garcia sold 1,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total transaction of $87,018.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $613,365.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,850 shares of company stock worth $905,507. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 1st quarter valued at $129,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Popular by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Popular by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 100,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,203,000 after acquiring an additional 10,364 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Stock Performance

Popular stock opened at $72.83 on Friday. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $73.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 0.88.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $693.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $703.21 million. Popular had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 18.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Popular will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 7th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 6th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.49%.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and 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.