Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Update

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, a growth of 27.7% from the February 13th total of 806,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 504,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % 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 Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $303,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,876,000. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $309,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.00.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $89.26 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $98.66 and its 200 day moving average is $97.32. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $80.60 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

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.