Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Sets New 12-Month High Following Earnings Beat

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $106.46 and last traded at $100.91, with a volume of 42196 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.77.

The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 38.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.25.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction of $347,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Popular by 15.2% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,507,000 after buying an additional 12,494 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Popular by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,769,000 after acquiring an additional 71,782 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Popular by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 279.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 38,798 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 28,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 284.9% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,403 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,260,000 after purchasing an additional 53,590 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.35. The company has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81.

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.