Short Interest in Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) Grows By 16.6%

Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 6,616,543 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the February 12th total of 5,675,493 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,072,451 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.2 days. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,072,451 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GGAL. Zacks Research lowered shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Grupo Financiero Galicia from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Grupo Financiero Galicia in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.50.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Stock Up 1.1%

GGAL opened at $42.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.61. Grupo Financiero Galicia has a 12-month low of $25.89 and a 12-month high of $66.24.

Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The bank reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter. Grupo Financiero Galicia had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.13%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Grupo Financiero Galicia will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.1541 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Grupo Financiero Galicia’s previous monthly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Grupo Financiero Galicia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grupo Financiero Galicia

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGAL. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 131.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 4,942.9% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,118 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 240.5% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,202 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia during the fourth quarter worth $74,000.

About Grupo Financiero Galicia

Grupo Financiero Galicia is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As one of the country’s largest private-sector financial institutions, the company provides a comprehensive suite of banking, insurance and investment products to individual, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and corporate clients. Its operations span retail and commercial banking, asset management, leasing, factoring and pension fund administration.

The core banking segment offers deposit and lending services, credit and debit cards, payment solutions and digital banking platforms.