BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BBAR shares. UBS Group upped their target price on BBVA Banco Frances from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a report on Tuesday, July 14th.

BBVA Banco Frances Trading Down 0.2%

BBAR opened at $18.89 on Tuesday. BBVA Banco Frances has a 1-year low of $7.76 and a 1-year high of $22.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.19.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The firm had revenue of $822.07 million for the quarter. Analysts predict that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.0131 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. BBVA Banco Frances’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBAR. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 54,175.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the third quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Carter Financial Group INC. bought a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the first quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 78.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter.

BBVA Banco Frances Company Profile

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.