Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Update

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the February 13th total of 806,300 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 504,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BPOP shares. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.00.

Popular Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Popular stock opened at $90.11 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.49. Popular has a 12 month low of $80.60 and a 12 month high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released 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 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. Analysts expect that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Popular’s payout ratio is 32.71%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in Popular by 15.2% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,507,000 after purchasing an additional 12,494 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Popular by 7.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,769,000 after buying an additional 71,782 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 53,590 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 83.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

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.