Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Price Target Increased to $115.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on BPOP. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Popular from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Popular from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $99.22.

Popular Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $88.36 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.83. The firm has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.82. Popular has a 52 week low of $52.32 and a 52 week high of $89.70.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $702.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.76 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 11.95%. As a group, research analysts expect that Popular will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Popular’s payout ratio is 36.80%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total value of $51,304.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,272,208.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,260,092.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Popular by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $331,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Popular by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in Popular by 93.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 9,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Popular by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Company Profile

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.