Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA – Get Rating) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

BMA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Banco Macro from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 31st. Zacks Investment Research lowered Banco Macro from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Macro presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.13.

Banco Macro stock opened at $16.93 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.33. Banco Macro has a one year low of $12.06 and a one year high of $21.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.31.

Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.83. Banco Macro had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 9.51%. The firm had revenue of $462.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.58 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Banco Macro will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the first quarter valued at about $98,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the third quarter valued at about $233,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the fourth quarter valued at about $223,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Banco Macro by 117.2% in the first quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 21,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 11,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Banco Macro by 77.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,226 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 9,711 shares in the last quarter. 7.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Banco Macro (Get Rating)

Banco Macro SA provides various banking products and services to retail and corporate customers in Argentina. It offers various retail banking products and services, such as savings and checking accounts, time deposits, credit and debit cards, consumer finance loans, mortgage loans, automobile loans, overdrafts, credit-related services, home and car insurance coverage, tax collection, utility payments, automated teller machines (ATMs), and money transfers.

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