Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Free Report) and TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Risk & Volatility
Popular has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TriCo Bancshares has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Popular and TriCo Bancshares’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Popular | $3.90 billion | 1.57 | $541.34 million | $6.74 | 12.59 |
| TriCo Bancshares | $499.75 million | 2.47 | $117.39 million | $3.28 | 11.33 |
Profitability
This table compares Popular and TriCo Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Popular | 11.95% | 11.67% | 0.80% |
| TriCo Bancshares | 21.25% | 9.75% | 1.11% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
87.3% of Popular shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.1% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Popular shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Popular and TriCo Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Popular | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2.78 |
| TriCo Bancshares | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
Popular presently has a consensus target price of $99.89, suggesting a potential upside of 17.72%. TriCo Bancshares has a consensus target price of $42.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.06%. Given Popular’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Popular is more favorable than TriCo Bancshares.
Dividends
Popular pays an annual dividend of $2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. TriCo Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Popular pays out 36.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TriCo Bancshares pays out 40.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. TriCo Bancshares has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. TriCo Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Popular beats TriCo Bancshares on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Popular
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. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial multi-family, commercial real estate, and residential mortgage loans; consumer loans, including personal loans, credit cards, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, and other loans to individual borrowers; construction loans; and lease financing comprising automobile loans/leases. In addition, the company provides investment banking, auto and equipment leasing and financing, broker-dealer, and insurance services; debit cards; and online banking services. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
About TriCo Bancshares
TriCo Bancshares operates as a bank holding company for Tri Counties Bank that provides commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides small business loans; real estate mortgage loans, such as residential and commercial loans; consumer loans; mortgage, auto, other vehicle, and personal loans; commercial loans, including agricultural loans; and real estate construction loans. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; credit and debit cards; and other customary banking services, including safe deposit boxes; and independent financial and broker-dealer services. Further, it provides checking, saving, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts; equipment financing; certificate of deposit account registry service; certificated of deposit; and IntraFi cash service. TriCo Bancshares was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Chico, California.
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