Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, a decline of 29.3% from the February 28th total of 2,250,000 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBVA. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,975 shares of the bank’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 20,999 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 21,044 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 43,769 shares of the bank’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the period. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Performance

Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,495,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,807,683. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a one year low of $9.23 and a one year high of $14.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $80.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.10% and a return on equity of 17.49%. As a group, analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.4439 per share. This is an increase from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. This represents a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BBVA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Company Profile

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance.