Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.00.

Popular Stock Down 1.8 %

BPOP stock opened at $82.50 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.64. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $78.59 and a fifty-two week high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Equities analysts anticipate that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter worth about $2,337,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Popular by 303.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after buying an additional 17,819 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 25.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Popular during the third quarter worth about $8,385,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Popular during the third quarter valued at about $713,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit.