Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Upgraded at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Popular from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Popular from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $177.83.

Popular Stock Down 1.2%

BPOP stock opened at $171.75 on Wednesday. Popular has a 12-month low of $108.74 and a 12-month high of $174.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $158.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.42. The company has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $816.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Popular will post 15.05 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total transaction of $45,108.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,960 shares in the company, valued at $595,425.60. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $920,762.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,255 shares in the company, valued at $1,671,480.05. The trade was a 35.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Popular by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,715,000 after purchasing an additional 17,729 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Popular during the 1st quarter worth approximately $257,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 60.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 223,530 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,647,000 after buying an additional 84,327 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular in the second quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Key Popular News

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark upgraded Popular, Inc. (BPOP) to strong-buy, which can boost investor confidence ahead of earnings and suggests Wall Street sees additional upside from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage from Zacks says Popular (BPOP) reports next week and that Wall Street expects earnings growth, but the setup does not look especially favorable for a clear earnings beat, keeping expectations balanced going into the release. Popular (BPOP) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Another brief note says Popular (BPOP) is expected to post earnings on Thursday, reinforcing that the stock is trading on pre-earnings anticipation rather than a new fundamental announcement. Popular (BPOP) Expected to Post Earnings on Thursday

About Popular

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.