Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Short Interest Up 9.8% in September

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,270,000 shares, an increase of 9.8% from the August 31st total of 5,710,000 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBVA has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BBVA. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 176,047 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 14,111 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 51,444 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $193,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,309,000. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Down 5.2 %

NYSE BBVA traded down $0.56 on Tuesday, hitting $10.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,450,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,493,836. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a one year low of $7.76 and a one year high of $12.20. The stock has a market cap of $60.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.64.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The bank reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 27.55% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm had revenue of $9.93 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.3244 dividend. This is a boost from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a yield of 5.6%. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is 35.37%.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Company Profile

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance.