Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Price

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $116.00 to $129.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 23.97% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.88.

Popular Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ BPOP traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $104.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 98,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,384. The company has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81. Popular has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.35.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. Research analysts anticipate that Popular will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction of $347,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,569.72. The trade was a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 235.5% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 332,093 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,299,000 after purchasing an additional 233,119 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the third quarter worth about $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Popular by 18.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,954,000 after purchasing an additional 84,839 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,385,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 304.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,042,000 after purchasing an additional 75,164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

About Popular

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.