Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Short Interest Up 46.2% in December

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,510,457 shares, an increase of 46.2% from the December 15th total of 1,033,380 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,088,714 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,088,714 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBVA traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,602,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,022. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a twelve month low of $10.60 and a twelve month high of $24.82. The stock has a market cap of $140.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.66.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 28.58%.The company had revenue of $10.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBVA. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.6% in the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 70,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,066 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 612.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 515,444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,922,000 after acquiring an additional 443,092 shares in the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,342,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 781,851 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,017,000 after purchasing an additional 25,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the 2nd quarter worth $1,773,000. 2.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBVA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Zacks Research lowered Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Company Profile

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank traces its roots to several historic regional banks and was formed through a series of mergers that consolidated its position as one of Spain’s largest banking groups. BBVA operates as a universal bank offering a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients.

BBVA’s core businesses include retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management, asset management, and insurance.