BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $14.73 and traded as high as $18.84. BBVA Banco Frances shares last traded at $18.67, with a volume of 498,714 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BBAR. Citigroup upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded BBVA Banco Frances from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.67.

BBVA Banco Frances Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.73.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The bank reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $865.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $871.10 billion. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 7.43%. As a group, analysts expect that BBVA Banco Frances S.A. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were given a dividend of $0.0336 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. 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 presently 42.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 9,764 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 17.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 93,265 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 13,594 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 6.5% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 333,654 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,492,000 after buying an additional 20,286 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG bought a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the second quarter worth about $743,000. Finally, Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,399,000.

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.