Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Stock Moved Up to Strong-Buy by Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BBVA. Bank of America downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBVA opened at $27.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.12. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a twelve month low of $17.90 and a twelve month high of $29.64.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 27.75% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The company had revenue of $11.99 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 14th will be paid a $0.4168 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 309.0%. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is 51.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,488,811 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $162,208,000 after purchasing an additional 352,011 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 741,337 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,785,000 after buying an additional 262,248 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 23.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,223,071 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,492,000 after acquiring an additional 231,330 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the 1st quarter valued at $4,471,000. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the first quarter valued at about $3,440,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA (NYSE: BBVA) is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank provides retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth management, asset management, payments and insurance services to individuals, businesses, institutions and public-sector clients.

BBVA traces its origins to Banco de Bilbao, founded in 1857. The modern group was formed through the merger of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Argentaria in 1999.