BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.50.

BBAR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded BBVA Banco Frances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on BBVA Banco Frances from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

BBVA Banco Frances Stock Performance

BBAR opened at $14.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 1.02. BBVA Banco Frances has a twelve month low of $7.76 and a twelve month high of $22.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The company had revenue of $822.07 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.0131 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. BBVA Banco Frances’s payout ratio is currently 102.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBAR. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 54,175.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in BBVA Banco Frances in the 3rd quarter valued at about $109,000. Carter Financial Group INC. acquired a new position in BBVA Banco Frances in the 1st quarter valued at about $150,000. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 78.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,973 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 4,808 shares during the period.

BBVA Banco Frances Company Profile

BBVA Banco Francés is one of Argentina’s leading financial institutions, operating as a subsidiary of the global banking group BBVA. The bank provides a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small and medium?sized enterprises, large corporations and institutional clients. Its product suite spans deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and auto loans, credit and debit cards, transactional banking and digital solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of customers in both urban and regional markets.

Founded in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century, Banco Francés has developed a longstanding presence in Argentina’s financial sector.