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

Shares of BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.6667.

Several research firms recently commented on BBAR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd.

BBVA Banco Frances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBAR opened at $15.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.76. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 1.04. BBVA Banco Frances has a 52 week low of $7.76 and a 52 week high of $23.10.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The bank reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $871.10 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a $0.0357 dividend. This is a boost from BBVA Banco Frances’s previous monthly dividend of $0.03. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. BBVA Banco Frances’s payout ratio is currently 44.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BBAR. Ping Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,050,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,740,000 after buying an additional 304,600 shares during the period. Channing Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BBVA Banco Frances during the second quarter worth about $419,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the third quarter valued at about $918,000. Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,399,000. Finally, OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,168,000.

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.