Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $102.46, but opened at $105.70. Popular shares last traded at $104.23, with a volume of 37,097 shares.

The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is 38.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total value of $347,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. The trade was a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 15.2% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,507,000 after purchasing an additional 12,494 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Popular by 7.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,769,000 after purchasing an additional 71,782 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 279.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 38,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,890,000 after acquiring an additional 28,574 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Popular by 284.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,260,000 after acquiring an additional 53,590 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Popular Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81.

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.