Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 6,616,543 shares, a growth of 16.6% from the February 12th total of 5,675,493 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,072,451 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,072,451 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grupo Financiero Galicia

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGAL. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 131.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Grupo Financiero Galicia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 4,942.9% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,118 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 240.5% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,202 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on GGAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Grupo Financiero Galicia in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research lowered Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.50.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GGAL opened at $40.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.49. Grupo Financiero Galicia has a 1-year low of $25.89 and a 1-year high of $66.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.38 and a 200-day moving average of $45.62.

Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The bank reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter. Grupo Financiero Galicia had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.13%.The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter. Research analysts expect that Grupo Financiero Galicia will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.1541 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is an increase from Grupo Financiero Galicia’s previous monthly dividend of $0.15. Grupo Financiero Galicia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.43%.

About Grupo Financiero Galicia

Grupo Financiero Galicia is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As one of the country’s largest private-sector financial institutions, the company provides a comprehensive suite of banking, insurance and investment products to individual, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and corporate clients. Its operations span retail and commercial banking, asset management, leasing, factoring and pension fund administration.

The core banking segment offers deposit and lending services, credit and debit cards, payment solutions and digital banking platforms.