** Shares of lender Popular BPOP.O rise 5% to $129.10

** Co posts Q4 net income of $233.9 million compared with $177.8 million a year ago

** Reports Q4 net interest of $657.6 million compared with $590.8 million a year ago

** Net interest income was driven by lower interest expenses on deposits and increased loan income

** 8 of 10 analysts rate stock "strong buy" or "buy" and 2 "hold"; their median PT is $145 - data compiled by LSEG

** Including session's move, BPOP up 24.2% in the last 12 months

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru)

((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com;))