Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE:BLX) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE:BLX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.58 and last traded at $54.2950, with a volume of 3828 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.78.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE:BLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The bank reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $88.80 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $0.6875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior’s dividend payout ratio is 45.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,163,826 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,907,000 after purchasing an additional 15,291 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 122,864 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,648,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,988 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,838,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior by 7.5% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,746 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. 19.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA, commonly known as BLADEx and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BLX, is a multilateral financial institution dedicated to promoting foreign trade and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean. Headquartered in Panama City, the bank provides specialized trade finance solutions to corporate clients and financial institutions, helping to facilitate cross-border transactions across key markets in the region. Its services encompass import and export financing, supply chain solutions, project and structured finance, as well as treasury and risk management products.

Established in 1977 by a consortium of 20 Latin American and Caribbean governments in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), BLADEx has a mandate to support economic development through trade facilitation.