Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Short Interest Up 33.9% in February

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,698,019 shares, an increase of 33.9% from the February 12th total of 2,014,312 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,928,462 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,928,462 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Trading Up 2.4%

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria stock opened at $20.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.59. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a twelve month low of $11.59 and a twelve month high of $26.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.80.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.29% and a net margin of 28.43%.The business had revenue of $11.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.74 billion. Equities analysts predict that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.7084 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 678.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s payout ratio is 30.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 103.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 125,927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 63,880 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 104.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 181,639 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,474,000 after purchasing an additional 92,843 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 9.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 24,063 shares of the bank’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 2,090 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 11.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 753,909 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,588,000 after buying an additional 80,161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

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.