Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) Trading 5.2% Higher on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) were up 5.2% during trading on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $52.49 and last traded at $51.9350. Approximately 412,403 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,202,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.39.

Specifically, Director Silvestre Vila Moret bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.11 per share, with a total value of $511,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,600,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,286,000. The trade was a 4.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Silvestre Vila Moret purchased 167,791 shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.27 per share, with a total value of $884,258.57. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,500,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,175,000. This trade represents a 7.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In related news, Director Silvestre Vila Moret acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.25 per share, for a total transaction of $52,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,332,209 shares in the company, valued at $12,244,097.25. This trade represents a 0.43% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Grupo Financiero Galicia from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.33.

Trending Headlines about Grupo Financiero Galicia

Here are the key news stories impacting Grupo Financiero Galicia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Silvestre Vila Moret made several recent open-market purchases of GGAL shares, including a 10,000-share buy and larger purchases earlier in the week. Persistent insider buying can signal management confidence and may be supportive for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts currently rate Grupo Financiero Galicia mostly around “Hold,” with a consensus price target above the recent trading range, suggesting sentiment is mixed rather than strongly bearish.
• Negative Sentiment: The latest reported quarter missed expectations on both earnings and revenue, which remains a fundamental headwind even with the recent insider buying.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Stock Up 5.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equities analysts expect that Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.6229 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 14.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Grupo Financiero Galicia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 214.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 149,789 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,997,000 after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,531 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 3,729 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 165,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,734,000 after purchasing an additional 7,603 shares in the last quarter. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. increased its position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 74.4% during the 1st quarter. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. now owns 41,586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 17,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in Grupo Financiero Galicia during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,879,000.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Company Profile

Grupo Financiero Galicia is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As one of the country’s largest private-sector financial institutions, the company provides a comprehensive suite of banking, insurance and investment products to individual, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and corporate clients. Its operations span retail and commercial banking, asset management, leasing, factoring and pension fund administration.

The core banking segment offers deposit and lending services, credit and debit cards, payment solutions and digital banking platforms.