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

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the February 13th total of 806,300 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 504,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Popular by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Popular by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Popular by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Trading Down 1.3 %

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. Popular has a 1-year low of $80.60 and a 1-year high of $106.81. The company has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.00.

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.