Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Update

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) saw a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 730,800 shares, a decrease of 12.0% from the August 31st total of 830,800 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 408,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Popular Price Performance

Popular stock traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.58. 361,789 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 400,056. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. Popular has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $105.01.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.38. Popular had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 12.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $751.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Popular will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 36.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BPOP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Popular from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Popular from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler began coverage on Popular in a research note on Monday, August 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price target on Popular from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total value of $577,499.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,387.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 2nd quarter valued at about $569,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Popular by 18.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,406 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 10.4% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 88,379 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,815,000 after acquiring an additional 8,317 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Popular by 0.6% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 171,016 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 2.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 546,981 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,370,000 after acquiring an additional 11,843 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.