Short Interest in Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) Expands By 16.5%

Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, a growth of 16.5% from the July 15th total of 884,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 332,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Banco Macro Stock Performance

NYSE BMA traded down $0.86 on Friday, hitting $56.59. 305,481 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 371,121. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.91. Banco Macro has a 1-year low of $17.30 and a 1-year high of $68.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $55.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The bank reported $5.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $2.83. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter. Banco Macro had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 37.91%. As a group, analysts expect that Banco Macro will post 11.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Macro Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.798 per share. This is a boost from Banco Macro’s previous monthly dividend of $1.74. This represents a $21.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 38.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Banco Macro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 127.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMA. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Macro in the fourth quarter worth about $1,462,000. Glenorchy Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Banco Macro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,217,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Macro by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 26,292 shares of the bank’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 7,806 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the 4th quarter valued at $1,475,000. Finally, HAP Trading LLC increased its holdings in Banco Macro by 148.7% in the 4th quarter. HAP Trading LLC now owns 36,736 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 21,964 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Banco Macro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America upgraded Banco Macro from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

About Banco Macro

Banco Macro SA provides various banking products and services to retail and corporate customers in Argentina. It offers various retail banking products and services, such as savings and checking accounts, time deposits, credit and debit cards, consumer finance loans, mortgage loans, automobile loans, overdrafts, credit-related services, home and car insurance coverage, tax collection, utility payments, automated teller machines (ATMs), and money transfers.