BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.07 EPS

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 10.24%.

BBVA Banco Frances Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of BBAR stock traded up $0.41 on Tuesday, reaching $14.40. 1,027,227 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,797. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. BBVA Banco Frances has a one year low of $7.76 and a one year high of $25.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.73.

BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.033 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This is an increase from BBVA Banco Frances’s previous monthly dividend of $0.03. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. BBVA Banco Frances’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BBAR. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. HSBC raised BBVA Banco Frances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $21.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Itau BBA Securities raised BBVA Banco Frances from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Institutional Trading of BBVA Banco Frances

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBAR. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in BBVA Banco Frances during the 3rd quarter valued at about $109,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 123.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,301 shares of the bank’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 8,450 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 66.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 9,764 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in BBVA Banco Frances in the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in BBVA Banco Frances during the 3rd quarter worth $331,000.

About BBVA Banco Frances

Banco BBVA Argentina SA provides various banking products and services to individuals and companies in Argentina. The company provides retail banking products and services, such as checking and savings accounts, time deposits, credit cards financing, consumer and pledge loans, mortgages, insurance, and investment products to individuals; and small and medium-sized companies products and services, including financing products, factoring, checking accounts, time deposits, transactional and payroll services, insurance, and investment products to private-sector companies.