BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Cut to Hold at Citigroup

Citigroup downgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on BBAR. Weiss Ratings raised BBVA Banco Frances from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group upped their price target on BBVA Banco Frances from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.50.

BBVA Banco Frances Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of BBVA Banco Frances stock opened at $14.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.93. BBVA Banco Frances has a 52-week low of $7.76 and a 52-week high of $22.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.69.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The bank reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 7.56%. The company had revenue of $716.56 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 54,175.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares in the last quarter. XP Advisory US Inc. purchased a new position in BBVA Banco Frances in the 2nd quarter worth $63,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 78.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 19,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 39,830 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 8,280 shares during the period.

About BBVA Banco Frances

BBVA Banco Francés is one of Argentina’s leading financial institutions, operating as a subsidiary of the global banking group BBVA. The bank provides a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small and medium‐sized enterprises, large corporations and institutional clients. Its product suite spans deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and auto loans, credit and debit cards, transactional banking and digital solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of customers in both urban and regional markets.

Founded in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century, Banco Francés has developed a longstanding presence in Argentina’s financial sector.