Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Reaches New 12-Month High at $8.96

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $8.96 and last traded at $8.90, with a volume of 149644 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBVA has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.64.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The firm had revenue of $8.66 billion during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 26.36% and a return on equity of 14.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th were paid a $0.1685 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 6th. This represents a yield of 5.1%. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.09%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BBVA. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 21.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 733,348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,173,000 after acquiring an additional 129,165 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 643,708 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 41,706 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 393,935 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,241,000 after buying an additional 15,070 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 32.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 35,093 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 8,633 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,972 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 3,749 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.83% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services. It offers current accounts; and demand, savings, overnight, time, term, and subordinated deposits. The company also provides loan products; deals in securities; leasing, factoring, brokerage, and asset management services; and manages pension and investment funds.