Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,951,015 shares, a growth of 126.6% from the April 15th total of 860,985 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,802,844 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BBVA opened at $21.88 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.86 and its 200-day moving average is $22.47. The stock has a market cap of $124.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.81. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a twelve month low of $14.63 and a twelve month high of $26.20.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $12.33 billion for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 17.65%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.7084 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 626.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBVA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the first quarter worth $657,000. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 30.2% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 22,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 5,116 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 1.7% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 112,396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,889 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 419,930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,095,000 after buying an additional 25,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the 1st quarter valued at $338,000. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.