Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,270,000 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the August 31st total of 5,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Price Performance

Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock traded down $0.56 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,450,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,493,836. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.64. The stock has a market cap of $60.01 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.30. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 12 month low of $7.76 and a 12 month high of $12.20.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 27.55% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $9.93 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.3244 per share. This is a positive change from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a yield of 5.6%. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 56.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 233,631 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after buying an additional 84,063 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 432,620 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,122,000 after purchasing an additional 100,170 shares during the period. Deltec Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the 2nd quarter valued at about $928,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the 1st quarter valued at about $979,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 88,022 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $883,000 after purchasing an additional 4,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBVA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.