Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on BBVA. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Performance

NYSE BBVA opened at $15.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.24. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 1 year low of $9.23 and a 1 year high of $15.66.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.10% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $10.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.4439 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is a positive change from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 3.5% during the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,114 shares of the bank’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 19.2% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,643 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,901 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,975 shares of the bank’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance.