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

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,052,592 shares, a drop of 46.0% from the April 30th total of 1,951,015 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,339,588 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBVA. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 103.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 125,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 63,880 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 104.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 181,639 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,474,000 after buying an additional 92,843 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted 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 valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 44.0% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 72,881 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,120,000 after buying an additional 22,284 shares during the last quarter. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria stock traded down $0.50 on Monday, reaching $22.89. 56,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,972,084. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a PEG ratio of 0.61 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The company had revenue of $12.33 billion during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

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.