Short Interest in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Drops By 16.2%

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 972,100 shares, a decrease of 16.2% from the December 31st total of 1,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 545,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler cut 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, StockNews.com raised Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.25.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $103.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 426,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 468,003. Popular has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.82.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. Analysts anticipate that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Popular's payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Popular by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank's stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Popular by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,749 shares of the bank's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Popular by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,709 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.