Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company.

BBVA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,936 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 96.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,616 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares during the period. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Avion Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Down 2.9 %

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock opened at $13.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $80.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.04. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a fifty-two week low of $9.23 and a fifty-two week high of $14.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.4439 dividend. This represents a yield of 4.3%. This is a positive change from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.23%.

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.