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

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a drop of 11.1% from the October 15th total of 2,070,000 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BBVA. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have assigned 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”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock traded up $0.14 on Monday, hitting $9.96. 2,405,280 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,503,339. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.32. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 12-month low of $8.63 and a 12-month high of $12.20. The company has a market cap of $58.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.31.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.3244 per share. This represents a yield of 5.6%. This is a positive change from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.31%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,103,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $111,371,000 after purchasing an additional 619,836 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 5.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,370,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,055,000 after acquiring an additional 344,355 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 9.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,412,058 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,253,000 after acquiring an additional 396,829 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 172.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,096,738 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,553 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,890,079 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,957,000 after purchasing an additional 368,660 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

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.