Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Price

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $105.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Popular from $117.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.75.

Popular Price Performance

Popular stock opened at $98.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $74.97 and a fifty-two week high of $105.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.78.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.62 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Popular will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 33.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction of $347,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,403.40. The trade was a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter worth $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Popular during the third quarter worth $47,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Popular during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Popular in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. 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.