Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.10 and last traded at $21.9960, with a volume of 283185 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBVA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Trading Up 0.0%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.01 and a 200-day moving average of $17.80. The company has a market cap of $127.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.83.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.58% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $10.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.47 billion. Equities analysts predict that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.3736 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 6th. This represents a yield of 361.0%. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBVA. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,288,196 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,760,000 after buying an additional 2,034,318 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,941,273 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014,305 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 17.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,375,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,247,000 after acquiring an additional 637,519 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 23.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,248,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,527,000 after acquiring an additional 615,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 373.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 768,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,789,000 after purchasing an additional 605,947 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance.