Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BPOP. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.14.

Popular Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Popular stock opened at $99.61 on Friday. Popular has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The firm had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $760.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Popular by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Popular during the third quarter worth about $81,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Popular by 589.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

About Popular

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.