Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday.

BBVA has been the topic of several other research reports. AlphaValue upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 8th. Societe Generale cut shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $6.36.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Performance

Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock opened at $6.87 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $43.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.18 and its 200 day moving average is $5.89. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 1 year low of $3.93 and a 1 year high of $7.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 26.53%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.3333 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. This is a positive change from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.12. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,584 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 217.2% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,681 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,890 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 124.8% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,859 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,808 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

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Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA engages in the traditional banking businesses of retail banking, asset management, private banking, and wholesale banking. It operates through the following segments: Spain, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and Rest of Eurasia. The Spain segment includes mainly the banking and insurance business that the group carries out in Spain.