Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Now Covered by Analysts at Hovde Group

Stock analysts at Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) in a research note issued on Friday. The brokerage set a “market perform” rating and a $171.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Hovde Group‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.85% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on BPOP. Benchmark upped their price objective on Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Popular from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Popular from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Monday, October 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Popular Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of BPOP stock traded down $1.41 on Friday, hitting $157.09. The company had a trading volume of 7,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,636. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.61. Popular has a twelve month low of $109.01 and a twelve month high of $179.24.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $874.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.43 million. Popular had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 22.36%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Popular will post 16.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Rodriguez sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $101,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,624.68. The trade was a 19.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Popular in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,245,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 8.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 465,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,486,000 after acquiring an additional 35,226 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the second quarter valued at approximately $54,916,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,344,000. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,914,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1893, it provides banking and other financial services primarily in Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland. Its principal subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, serves individuals and businesses with consumer and commercial banking, mortgage lending, and related financial services. Popular also operates Popular Bank in the mainland United States and provides auto financing through Popular Auto. Ignacio Alvarez is Popular’s president and chief executive officer.