Short Interest in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Increases By 7.4%

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOPGet Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the December 15th total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 529,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $99.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.81. Popular has a 12 month low of $79.50 and a 12 month high of $105.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.40 and a 200-day moving average of $96.83.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOPGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Popular will post 8.41 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 38.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction of $347,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,403.40. The trade was a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. State Street Corp boosted its position in Popular by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $207,475,000 after purchasing an additional 10,599 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Popular by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,769,000 after purchasing an additional 71,782 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 8.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 902,931 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,537,000 after buying an additional 67,620 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 23.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,129,000 after purchasing an additional 164,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Popular by 3.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 629,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,124,000 after purchasing an additional 22,355 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BPOP. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.25.

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Popular Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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