Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Short Interest Update

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, a drop of 29.3% from the February 28th total of 2,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on BBVA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. 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. Finally, 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 investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BBVA traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $13.73. The company had a trading volume of 2,495,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,807,683. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.03. The firm has a market cap of $80.13 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 1-year low of $9.23 and a 1-year high of $14.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.10% and a return on equity of 17.49%. Research analysts predict that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.4439 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 presently 39.23%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,481,085 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,596,000 after acquiring an additional 163,044 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,418,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424,880 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,370,344 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,055,000 after purchasing an additional 344,355 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 13.7% during 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 position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,647,000. 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.