Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Price Performance

BBVA stock opened at $13.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.86 and a 200-day moving average of $11.02. 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 $80.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 12 month low of $9.23 and a 12 month high of $14.84.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 28.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.4439 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a yield of 4.3%. This is a boost from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,481,085 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,596,000 after buying an additional 163,044 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,418,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,424,880 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,370,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,055,000 after purchasing an additional 344,355 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,108,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,654,000 after purchasing an additional 613,563 shares during the period. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the fourth quarter worth $27,647,000. 2.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Company Profile

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.