BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.6667.

BBAR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded BBVA Banco Frances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded BBVA Banco Frances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd.

BBVA Banco Frances Price Performance

BBAR opened at $20.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.60. BBVA Banco Frances has a twelve month low of $7.76 and a twelve month high of $23.10.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The bank reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.07). BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $865.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $871.10 billion. Equities analysts expect that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were given a $0.0336 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from BBVA Banco Frances’s previous monthly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. BBVA Banco Frances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBAR. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd raised its position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 103.8% during the 4th quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 1,141,305 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,623,000 after buying an additional 581,305 shares in the last quarter. JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. purchased a new position in BBVA Banco Frances in the fourth quarter worth $231,000. TT International Asset Management LTD increased its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 181,564 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,217,000 after acquiring an additional 82,496 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 40,418 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 62.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,789 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 110,334 shares during the last quarter.

BBVA Banco Frances Company Profile

BBVA Banco Francés is one of Argentina’s leading financial institutions, operating as a subsidiary of the global banking group BBVA. The bank provides a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small and medium‐sized enterprises, large corporations and institutional clients. Its product suite spans deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and auto loans, credit and debit cards, transactional banking and digital solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of customers in both urban and regional markets.

Founded in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century, Banco Francés has developed a longstanding presence in Argentina’s financial sector.