Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Price

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the bank's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 5.34% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.63.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP traded up $1.97 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $104.43. The company had a trading volume of 188,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,884. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $97.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.35. The company has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81. Popular has a 12-month low of $80.60 and a 12-month high of $106.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Popular will post 8.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related 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 transaction of $347,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $325,569.72. The trade was 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

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $444,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,130 shares of the bank's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 18.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,406 shares of the bank's stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $569,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Popular by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,630 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 5,287 shares in 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.

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