BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.04 Per Share

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) declared a monthly dividend on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of 0.0357 per share by the bank on Thursday, February 26th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is a 6.1% increase from BBVA Banco Frances’s previous monthly dividend of $0.03.

BBVA Banco Frances has increased its dividend by an average of 0.4%per year over the last three years. BBVA Banco Frances has a dividend payout ratio of 25.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect BBVA Banco Frances to earn $2.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.0%.

BBVA Banco Frances Trading Down 1.2%

BBAR stock opened at $16.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. BBVA Banco Frances has a 52-week low of $7.76 and a 52-week high of $23.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 1.04.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The bank reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.07). BBVA Banco Frances had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 4.46%.The business had revenue of $865.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $871.10 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised BBVA Banco Frances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

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.