Credicorp (NYSE:BAP) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $180.21 and last traded at $177.39, with a volume of 201884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.00.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $9.4084 per share. This is an increase from Credicorp’s previous annual dividend of $6.74. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. Credicorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 223.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BAP shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Credicorp from $192.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Credicorp from $190.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.73.

Credicorp Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $169.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.02.

Credicorp (NYSE:BAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The bank reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.82 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. Credicorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 14.68%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Credicorp Ltd. will post 18.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Credicorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BAP. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Credicorp by 1,723.7% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 303,705 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,832,000 after acquiring an additional 287,052 shares during the period. LA Financiere DE L Echiquier grew its holdings in shares of Credicorp by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. LA Financiere DE L Echiquier now owns 34,677 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,199,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841 shares during the period. Deltec Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Credicorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,349,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Credicorp by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 252,909 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,919,000 after acquiring an additional 5,695 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Credicorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,053,247 shares of the bank’s stock worth $390,724,000 after acquiring an additional 55,018 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Credicorp Company Profile

Credicorp Ltd. provides various financial, insurance, and health services and products primarily in Peru and internationally. It operates through Universal Banking, Insurance and Pensions, Microfinance, and Investment Banking and Equity Management segments. The Universal Banking segment grants various credits and financial instruments to individuals and legal entities; and various deposits and current accounts.