Zacks Investment Research Upgrades Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) to “Hold”

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

According to Zacks, “Banco Bilbao Vizcaya is engaged in a wide variety of banking, financial and related activities in Spain. “

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Oddo Bhf cut shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from €7.00 ($7.61) to €7.30 ($7.93) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from €7.30 ($7.93) to €6.20 ($6.74) in a report on Monday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from €6.20 ($6.74) to €6.30 ($6.85) and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.61.

Shares of NYSE BBVA traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,587,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,071,535. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 12-month low of $4.76 and a 12-month high of $7.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 22.03% and a return on equity of 8.63%. On average, equities analysts predict that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 46,360,564 shares of the bank’s stock worth $272,137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,913 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,299,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,225,000 after buying an additional 651,906 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,784,932 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,958,000 after buying an additional 325,303 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.5% during the third quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,600,595 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,908,000 after buying an additional 292,246 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Suisse AG boosted its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 9.6% during the third quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 3,675,213 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,220,000 after buying an additional 322,864 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.59% of the company’s stock.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Company Profile (Get Rating)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services. It offers current accounts; and demand, savings, overnight, time, term, and subordinated deposits. The company also provides loan products; deals in securities; and manages pension and investment funds.

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