Brokerages Set Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Target Price at $106.00

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.00.

BPOP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Popular from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Popular Price Performance

Popular stock traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.15. 411,248 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 478,247. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.81. Popular has a 12 month low of $75.17 and a 12 month high of $105.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.97.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $766.62 million. Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Popular will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Popular's payout ratio is currently 33.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $347,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 304.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,042,000 after acquiring an additional 75,164 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,635,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in Popular by 15.2% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Popular by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,099 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,024,000 after buying an additional 4,699 shares during the last quarter. 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.