Popular (BPOP) & Its Rivals Critical Analysis
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyPopular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Free Report) is one of 919 publicly-traded companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Popular to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and dividends.
Dividends
Popular pays an annual dividend of $3.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Popular pays out 22.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 9.3% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Popular has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Popular and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Net Income | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Popular | $4.44 billion | $833.16 million | 9.86 |
| Popular Competitors | $9.95 billion | $2.42 billion | 20.29 |
Popular’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Popular. Popular is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.
Profitability
This table compares Popular and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Popular | 22.36% | 16.08% | 1.32% |
| Popular Competitors | 15.66% | 9.44% | 0.93% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
87.3% of Popular shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Popular shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility & Risk
Popular has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Popular’s competitors have a beta of 0.61, suggesting that their average share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Popular and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Popular | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Popular Competitors | 7481 | 30219 | 27791 | 1473 | 2.35 |
Popular currently has a consensus price target of $186.83, indicating a potential upside of 19.37%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 17.06%. Given Popular’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Popular is more favorable than its competitors.
Summary
Popular beats its competitors on 10 of the 15 factors compared.
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. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial multi-family, commercial real estate, and residential mortgage loans; consumer loans, including personal loans, credit cards, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, and other loans to individual borrowers; construction loans; and lease financing comprising automobile loans/leases. In addition, the company provides investment banking, auto and equipment leasing and financing, broker-dealer, and insurance services; debit cards; and online banking services. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.