Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reiterates Outperform Rating for Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their outperform rating on shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price target of $103.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on Popular in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $99.22.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $88.36 on Wednesday. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $52.32 and a fifty-two week high of $89.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.82.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.89. Popular had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 11.95%. The company had revenue of $702.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.76 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Popular will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,260,092.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total value of $51,304.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,272,208.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,260,092.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Popular during the first quarter valued at $8,648,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 661.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 9,377 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 6.7% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,729 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 5.4% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 114,237 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,960,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 164.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.