Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 2,261,155 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 92% from the previous session’s volume of 1,177,987 shares.The stock last traded at $47.6970 and had previously closed at $45.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGAL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Grupo Financiero Galicia from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Stock Up 5.8%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.45 and a 200-day moving average of $48.56. The stock has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Grupo Financiero Galicia had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.13%. Equities research analysts predict that Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.6229 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Grupo Financiero Galicia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 347.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGAL. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 131.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 4,942.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,118 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG grew its stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 563.2% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,036 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter.

About Grupo Financiero Galicia

Grupo Financiero Galicia is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As one of the country’s largest private-sector financial institutions, the company provides a comprehensive suite of banking, insurance and investment products to individual, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and corporate clients. Its operations span retail and commercial banking, asset management, leasing, factoring and pension fund administration.

The core banking segment offers deposit and lending services, credit and debit cards, payment solutions and digital banking platforms.