Short Interest in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Increases By 33.9%

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,698,019 shares, an increase of 33.9% from the February 12th total of 2,014,312 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,928,462 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,928,462 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 103.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 125,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 63,880 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 104.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 181,639 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,474,000 after purchasing an additional 92,843 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 9.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 24,063 shares of the bank’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 11.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 753,909 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,588,000 after purchasing an additional 80,161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria stock opened at $20.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.55. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a 12 month low of $11.59 and a 12 month high of $26.20.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $11.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.74 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 17.29%. Analysts predict that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.7084 per share. This represents a yield of 678.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

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.