Short Interest in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Declines By 14.1%

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 834,600 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the January 15th total of 972,100 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 500,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TCW Group Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 12,494 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 7.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank's stock worth $105,769,000 after purchasing an additional 71,782 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position 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 worth $7,260,000 after purchasing an additional 53,590 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position 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 worth $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 28,574 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $103.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 455,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,417. The company has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.82. Popular has a 12 month low of $80.60 and a 12 month high of $106.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.73.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BPOP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.25.

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.