Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, a growth of 27.7% from the February 13th total of 806,300 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 504,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Popular Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ BPOP traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $90.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 262,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 430,575. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.27. Popular has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The stock has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.00.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Popular by 4.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,749 shares of the bank's stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Popular by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at $226,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Popular by 284.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,403 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,260,000 after acquiring an additional 53,590 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.