BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Shares Up 8.1% – Time to Buy?

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) shares were up 8.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.50 and last traded at $18.34. Approximately 572,138 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 946,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised BBVA Banco Frances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a research report on Tuesday. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.67.

BBVA Banco Frances Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.76 and a 200 day moving average of $14.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The bank reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $512.44 million during 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, equities research analysts forecast that BBVA Banco Frances S.A. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.0331 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. BBVA Banco Frances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.05%.

Institutional Trading of BBVA Banco Frances

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 199.9% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,381 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the 3rd quarter worth about $109,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 123.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,301 shares of the bank’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in BBVA Banco Frances in the third quarter valued at approximately $136,000.

About BBVA Banco Frances

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.