Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $129.34 and last traded at $129.54, with a volume of 121979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BPOP. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Popular from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Popular in a report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.78.

Popular Stock Down 0.5%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.63.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $720.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $803.95 million. Popular had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.63%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other Popular news, Director Richard L. Carrion sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total transaction of $2,837,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 193,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,907,770. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.84, for a total value of $114,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,604 shares in the company, valued at $299,043.36. This represents a 27.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Popular by 262.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. purchased a new position in Popular in the second quarter worth $39,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Popular by 2,158.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 112.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.