Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BPOP. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Popular from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.71.

Popular Stock Performance

Popular stock opened at $87.19 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.37 and its 200-day moving average is $75.74. Popular has a 1 year low of $52.32 and a 1 year high of $89.70. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.89. Popular had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $702.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.76 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Popular will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,260,092.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Popular news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total value of $51,304.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,529 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,208.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,260,092.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 30,898 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 5.9% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the bank’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Popular by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 337 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 5.8% in the first 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. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 6.4% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 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.