Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Up 38.8% in March

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,430,000 shares, a growth of 38.8% from the February 28th total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 562,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Popular Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $91.52 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular has a 1-year low of $80.60 and a 1-year high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Equities analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Popular

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Popular by 83.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth $2,337,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Popular during the third quarter valued at about $506,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Popular by 303.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 17,819 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Popular by 25.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BPOP shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.00.

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.