Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $99.93, but opened at $96.10. Popular shares last traded at $95.54, with a volume of 66,455 shares.

The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $736.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.62 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 12.20%. Popular’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Popular from $117.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total transaction 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 3.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 294,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,924,000 after acquiring an additional 10,308 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Popular by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 282,639 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,898,000 after purchasing an additional 6,067 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 249.1% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 32,845 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,904,000 after buying an additional 23,436 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 10.4% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 88,379 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,815,000 after buying an additional 8,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 1.4% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 708,385 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,402,000 after buying an additional 9,985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Down 0.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $98.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.04.

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.