Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $159.95 and last traded at $156.15, with a volume of 541124 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Popular from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.73.

Popular Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $148.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.32.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly 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. Popular had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 20.10%.The business had revenue of $816.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.16%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $3,450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,588 shares in the company, valued at $5,188,200. This trade represents a 39.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $920,762.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,671,480.05. This trade represents a 35.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870 in the last quarter. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the bank’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in Popular by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 7,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Severin Investments LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the bank’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 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.