Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Popular Inc (NASDAQ:BPOP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Market Beat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $28.00 target price on the stock.

According to Zacks, “Popular, Inc. is a diversified, publicly owned bank holding company. The corporation’s principal subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, has one of the largest retail franchise in Puerto Rico, operating numerous branches and automated teller machines. The Bank also operates branches in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and New York. “

In other Popular news, Director Maria Luisa Ferre sold 296,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total value of $8,704,259.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,549.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DIAM Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Popular by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. DIAM Co. Ltd. now owns 27,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Popular by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 2,412,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,368,000 after buying an additional 113,302 shares in the last quarter. Russell Frank Co increased its stake in Popular by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Frank Co now owns 322,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,198,000 after buying an additional 129,296 shares in the last quarter. First Quadrant L P CA increased its stake in Popular by 895.4% in the fourth quarter. First Quadrant L P CA now owns 121,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,441,000 after buying an additional 109,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $2,464,000.

BPOP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HSBC upgraded Popular from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 12th. BTIG Research restated a buy rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Popular from $32.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Popular from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Popular currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) opened at 24.69 on Thursday. Popular has a 52-week low of $22.40 and a 52-week high of $35.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion and a P/E ratio of 2.85.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 26th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.40. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Popular will post $3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 18th.

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) is a financial holding company. The Company operates in two segments: Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (BPPR) and Banco Popular North America (BPNA). The Company’s BPPR segment provides retail, including residential mortgage loans originations and commercial banking services through its banking subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, as well as auto and equipment leasing and financing, investment banking, broker-dealer and insurance services through specialized subsidiaries. The Company’s BPNA segment consists of Popular North America, Inc. (PNA) functioning as the holding company for the Company’s operations in the United States. The banking operations of BPNA in the United States mainland are based in New York, Florida and New Jersey, conducted under the name of Popular Community Bank.

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