Zacks Research Upgrades Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) to Strong-Buy

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

BPOP has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $198.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.08.

Popular Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $167.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.78. Popular has a 12-month low of $108.74 and a 12-month high of $179.24.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 21.37%.The firm had revenue of $846.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $878.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Popular will post 15.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Adorno Rodriguez sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $101,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $420,624.68. This represents a 19.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lidio Soriano sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $523,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 107,320 shares in the company, valued at $18,727,340. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,561 shares of company stock worth $9,392,259. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Popular by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,458 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC boosted its stake in Popular by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the bank’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Popular by 1.2% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Severin Investments LLC grew its position in Popular by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.