Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL) Short Interest Up 28.7% in February

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 407,511 shares, an increase of 28.7% from the January 29th total of 316,598 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 169,170 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 169,170 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVAL opened at $4.21 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores has a 52-week low of $2.25 and a 52-week high of $5.28.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The bank reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores had a return on equity of 6.99% and a net margin of 5.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AVAL. Citigroup cut shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAL. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 384.3% during the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 387,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 307,400 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 683.5% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 275,148 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 240,028 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores during the second quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 34.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 139,173 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 35,862 shares during the period. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the second quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 0.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA is a leading Colombian financial holding company that offers a diversified range of banking and financial services across Latin America. As one of the largest financial conglomerates in Colombia, Grupo Aval provides commercial and retail banking, leasing, insurance brokerage, pension fund management and investment banking through its principal subsidiaries.

Its core banking operations are conducted through a network of well-established institutions, including Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente, Banco Popular and Banco AV Villas, which together serve individual consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporate clients.