Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. (NYSE:BLX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. (NYSE:BLX) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 284,500 shares, a growth of 10.6% from the March 15th total of 257,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 130,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. Price Performance

BLX stock opened at $29.40 on Wednesday. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. has a 1 year low of $17.09 and a 1 year high of $30.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.18.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. (NYSE:BLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The bank reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $77.79 million for the quarter. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 23.34%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.80%. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.’s payout ratio is presently 43.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $488,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. in the third quarter valued at approximately $630,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 42,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. in the third quarter worth approximately $976,000. Finally, Thomas White International Ltd. increased its stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. by 0.3% during the first quarter. Thomas White International Ltd. now owns 353,718 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. 19.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A., a multinational bank, primarily engages in the financing of foreign trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates through two segments, Commercial and Treasury. It also offers bilateral loans; structured loans including syndicated and clubbed, such as acquisition and pre-export financing, A/B loan financing, bridge loans, and liability management; and project financing.