Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $104.00 target price on the bank's stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their price target on Popular from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.63.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP traded down $1.86 on Tuesday, hitting $93.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 485,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,300. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.58 and a 200-day moving average of $95.33. Popular has a 12-month low of $79.01 and a 12-month high of $105.01. The company has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Popular's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Popular will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. This is an increase from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Popular's dividend payout ratio is 38.04%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction of $347,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,569.72. This represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Popular by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank's stock worth $207,475,000 after buying an additional 10,599 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,218,828 shares of the bank's stock worth $107,781,000 after acquiring an additional 113,838 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Popular by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank's stock valued at $105,769,000 after purchasing an additional 71,782 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Popular by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 902,931 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,537,000 after purchasing an additional 67,620 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Popular by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,794 shares of the bank's stock worth $75,129,000 after purchasing an additional 164,270 shares during the last quarter. 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.