Short Interest in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Declines By 28.9%

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 704,000 shares, a drop of 28.9% from the October 15th total of 990,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 486,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Popular Trading Down 2.7 %

Popular stock traded down $2.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $95.71. 195,186 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 423,211. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.79. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $71.08 and a fifty-two week high of $105.01.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.62 million. Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Popular will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Popular’s payout ratio is 33.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Popular from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Popular from $117.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total transaction of $577,499.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,387.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Popular news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total value of $577,499.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,387.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,242 shares of company stock worth $1,102,880. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Popular

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.