Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Short Interest Down 24.9% in March

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,026,265 shares, a drop of 24.9% from the February 26th total of 2,698,019 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,237,666 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Performance

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.64. 1,862,181 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,227,925. The company has a market cap of $124.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.77. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a 12 month low of $11.59 and a 12 month high of $26.20.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $11.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.74 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 17.29%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.7084 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 678.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is 30.46%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 1,819.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,616,734 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,306,000 after buying an additional 3,428,336 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,288,196 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,034,318 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,248,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,527,000 after acquiring an additional 615,985 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 373.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 768,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,789,000 after acquiring an additional 605,947 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,548,398 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,909,000 after purchasing an additional 467,226 shares during the last quarter. 2.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBVA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Company Profile

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank traces its roots to several historic regional banks and was formed through a series of mergers that consolidated its position as one of Spain’s largest banking groups. BBVA operates as a universal bank offering a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients.

BBVA’s core businesses include retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management, asset management, and insurance.