Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Upgraded at UBS Group

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $160.00 target price on the bank’s stock, up from their previous target price of $142.00. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 14.14% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BPOP. Citigroup increased their price target on Popular from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.73.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $140.18 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.38. Popular has a 12 month low of $79.63 and a 12 month high of $149.31. The company has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.59.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results 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. Popular had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 18.75%.The firm had revenue of $806.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at $7,611,992.50. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $481,002.75. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 262.9% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

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.