Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $152.97 and last traded at $152.58, with a volume of 24978 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $150.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BPOP shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $156.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Popular from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.73.

Popular Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $143.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.20.

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

Popular Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total transaction of $45,108.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $595,425.60. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $3,450,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,188,200. The trade was a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,870. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Popular by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,489,936 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,057,167,000 after buying an additional 37,424 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Popular by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,361,681 shares of the bank’s stock worth $543,117,000 after buying an additional 58,452 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,962,871 shares of the bank’s stock worth $376,314,000 after buying an additional 1,065,452 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,405,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $175,057,000 after buying an additional 64,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Popular by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,043,733 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $129,966,000 after buying an additional 88,765 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.