Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Given New $110.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $110.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 6.86% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped 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 seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP stock opened at $102.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.48. Popular has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,490,403.40. The trade was a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,325 shares of company stock worth $1,565,581 over the last three months. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Popular during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Popular in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Popular during the third quarter worth $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at $166,000. 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.