Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the recipient 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 shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBVA. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 176,047 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position 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 worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the fourth quarter worth approximately $193,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the fourth quarter valued at $4,309,000. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BNP Paribas cut shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Down 5.2 %

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock traded down $0.56 during trading hours 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.64. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 12-month low of $7.76 and a 12-month high of $12.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.30.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.3244 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

About Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

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.