Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Down 27.3% in February

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,176,727 shares, a drop of 27.3% from the February 12th total of 1,619,077 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 500,721 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 500,721 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,415 shares in the company, valued at $481,002.75. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at $7,611,992.50. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,991 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 74,594 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,331,000 after buying an additional 18,721 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Popular by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 149,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,577,000 after buying an additional 70,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Popular by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 439,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,282,000 after purchasing an additional 147,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ BPOP traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $130.38. The company had a trading volume of 567,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 534,975. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $78.23 and a fifty-two week high of $149.31. The stock has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.48.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.70%. The business had revenue of $806.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Hovde Group raised their target price on Popular from $153.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $156.00 price objective on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.55.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.