StockNews.com Upgrades Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) to “Buy”

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BPOP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Popular Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BPOP opened at $103.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81. Popular has a 1 year low of $80.60 and a 1 year high of $106.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.39.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Popular by 235.5% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 332,093 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,299,000 after purchasing an additional 233,119 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Popular during the third quarter worth about $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Popular by 18.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,954,000 after acquiring an additional 84,839 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter worth about $8,385,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Popular by 304.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,042,000 after purchasing an additional 75,164 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

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.