Popular’s (BPOP) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their outperform rating on shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $110.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price target of $103.00.

BPOP has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $99.89.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP stock opened at $86.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.61 and its 200 day moving average is $79.05. Popular has a one year low of $52.32 and a one year high of $89.70.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $702.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.76 million. Popular had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 11.95%. Research analysts predict that Popular will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 36.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $331,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Popular by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Popular by 93.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 9,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 25.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.