Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on BBVA. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Performance

Shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria stock opened at $23.16 on Friday. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a fifty-two week low of $9.44 and a fifty-two week high of $23.34. The company has a market capitalization of $135.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.00 and a 200 day moving average of $18.51.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 28.58%.The business had revenue of $10.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.47 billion. Analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 6th were given a $0.3736 dividend. This represents a yield of 361.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 6th. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is 31.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Investment Advisors MI purchased a new position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the 3rd quarter valued at $238,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the third quarter worth about $1,632,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,846,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $93,288,000 after buying an additional 297,752 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 31,326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 9,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the 3rd quarter valued at about $603,000. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank traces its roots to several historic regional banks and was formed through a series of mergers that consolidated its position as one of Spain’s largest banking groups. BBVA operates as a universal bank offering a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients.

BBVA’s core businesses include retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management, asset management, and insurance.