32,785 Shares in BBVA Banco Frances S.A. $BBAR Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 32,785 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 9.8% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,021,521 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,274,000 after purchasing an additional 180,137 shares during the period. Fourth Sail Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,399,000. Ping Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 745,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,278,000 after acquiring an additional 45,600 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 6.0% in the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 514,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,810,000 after acquiring an additional 29,319 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 6.5% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 333,654 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,492,000 after purchasing an additional 20,286 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBAR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. HSBC raised BBVA Banco Frances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $21.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BBVA Banco Frances currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

BBVA Banco Frances Trading Up 7.7%

BBAR opened at $21.01 on Wednesday. BBVA Banco Frances S.A. has a 1-year low of $7.76 and a 1-year high of $23.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.45.

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

BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be paid a $0.0336 dividend. This is an increase from BBVA Banco Frances’s previous monthly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BBVA Banco Frances’s payout ratio is 41.05%.

About BBVA Banco Frances

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.