Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on BBVA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of BBVA stock opened at $20.83 on Tuesday. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a 52-week low of $11.59 and a 52-week high of $26.20. The stock has a market cap of $120.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.51.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $11.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.74 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.29% and a net margin of 28.43%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $0.7084 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a yield of 678.0%. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 59.6% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 2.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Company Profile

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.