Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.45 and last traded at $23.3040, with a volume of 24304 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBVA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Monday. Zacks Research cut Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $136.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.64.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.47 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 28.58%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 6th were paid a $0.3736 dividend. This represents a yield of 361.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 6th. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,288,196 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,034,318 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 10.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,941,273 shares of the bank’s stock worth $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,305 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,375,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,247,000 after buying an additional 637,519 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 23.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,248,176 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,527,000 after purchasing an additional 615,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 373.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 768,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,789,000 after buying an additional 605,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

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.