Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $163.11 and last traded at $163.0850, with a volume of 8224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Popular from $141.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Popular from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.73.

Popular Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $150.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.39.

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

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is 22.16%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total transaction of $45,108.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $595,425.60. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Popular by 8.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Popular in the first quarter valued at approximately $389,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Popular by 615.9% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 38,031 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,103,000 after purchasing an additional 32,719 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Popular by 20.3% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 79,921 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,723,000 after purchasing an additional 13,490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

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.