Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $155.7273.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BPOP shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Popular from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Popular Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of BPOP opened at $142.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $125.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.37. Popular has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $145.34.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $815.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. Popular had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 18.75%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 24.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, Director Richard L. Carrion sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total transaction of $2,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 193,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,907,770. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,611,992.50. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 28,360 shares of company stock valued at $3,265,040 over the last ninety days. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Popular in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 262.9% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 2,158.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 3,925.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 483 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Popular by 117.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 540 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Popular

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded BPOP to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and highlighted the bank across its value, income and new-strong-buy lists — a coordinated upgrade that can attract momentum, buy-side attention and inflows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets and a “fair value” reset have shifted the narrative on BPOP, reinforcing the bull case and likely supporting multiple expansion after the company’s recent earnings beat and raised forward expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note BPOP has hit a 52-week high and examine whether the run can continue; useful stock‑momentum context but not new fundamental news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider filing: Alejandro Ballester sold 2,360 shares. Size is modest relative to market cap and recent volume, so this is more housekeeping than a clear negative signal. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Separate headline risk: an unrelated ice-cream chain named “Popular” filed Chapter 11 — could create short-term search/headline confusion but does not reflect Popular, Inc.’s fundamentals. Market impact from this is likely minimal but may cause noise. Read More.

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.