Stock analysts at Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 32.99% from the stock’s previous close.
Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BPOP. Barclays upped their price objective on Popular from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Zacks Investment Research raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 7th. ValuEngine raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Popular from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.50 price objective on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.50.
Shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) traded up $0.81 on Thursday, hitting $35.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,280,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,403. The stock has a market cap of $3,522.97, a PE ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.31. Popular has a twelve month low of $32.04 and a twelve month high of $45.96.
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Popular by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,512,775 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,098,000 after buying an additional 53,446 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Popular by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,033,292 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $209,937,000 after buying an additional 567,642 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Popular by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 551,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,996,000 after buying an additional 146,370 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Popular by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 223,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,314,000 after buying an additional 58,000 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Popular by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 90,040 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 33,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.94% of the company’s stock.
About Popular
Popular, Inc (Popular) is a financial holding company. The Company operates in two segments: Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (BPPR), which includes its Puerto Rico business, and Banco Popular North America (BPNA), which includes its the United States mainland business. The Company has operations in Puerto Rico, the United States and the Caribbean.
