Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

BPOP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.00.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $93.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.99. Popular has a 52-week low of $80.60 and a 52-week high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. On average, analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s payout ratio is 32.71%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Popular by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Popular by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Popular by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,357 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Popular by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,709 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,888,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.