Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Short Interest Down 16.0% in November

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) saw a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 591,300 shares, a decline of 16.0% from the October 31st total of 704,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 514,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Popular Stock Down 0.2 %

Popular stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $99.17. 279,339 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 424,805. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.70. The company has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.79. Popular has a one year low of $74.97 and a one year high of $105.01.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. The firm had revenue of $736.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Popular will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 33.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BPOP. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on Popular from $117.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the business’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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Popular by 3.0% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,087 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Popular by 4.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Popular by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Popular by 16.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Popular by 9.5% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.