Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $153.99 and last traded at $153.34, with a volume of 78037 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $152.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Popular from $141.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.73.

Popular Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.63.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $816.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.54 million. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. Analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $920,762.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,671,480.05. This represents a 35.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total transaction of $45,108.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $595,425.60. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 30.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the bank’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Popular by 1.2% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 7,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Severin Investments LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 1.9% in the first quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 1.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the bank’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Popular

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.