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

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 591,300 shares, a decrease of 16.0% from the October 31st total of 704,000 shares. Currently, 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 Performance

Shares of BPOP stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $99.36. The company had a trading volume of 278,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,901. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $96.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.68. Popular has a one year low of $72.80 and a one year high of $105.01.

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

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. 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. Popular’s payout ratio is 33.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 25,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,490,403.40. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 52.2% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 835,311 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,867,000 after buying an additional 286,450 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Popular by 235.5% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 332,093 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,299,000 after purchasing an additional 233,119 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,794 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,129,000 after purchasing an additional 164,270 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Popular by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,218,828 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,781,000 after purchasing an additional 113,838 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,115,000. 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.