Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $4.04, but opened at $4.23. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores shares last traded at $4.2740, with a volume of 23,686 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup lowered shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Stock Up 0.2%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $4.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The bank reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 6.24%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.0144 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores’s payout ratio is currently 37.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAL. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the second quarter worth about $78,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 73.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 60,733 shares of the bank’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 25,753 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the second quarter worth about $155,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the second quarter worth about $99,000. 0.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA is a leading Colombian financial holding company that offers a diversified range of banking and financial services across Latin America. As one of the largest financial conglomerates in Colombia, Grupo Aval provides commercial and retail banking, leasing, insurance brokerage, pension fund management and investment banking through its principal subsidiaries.

Its core banking operations are conducted through a network of well-established institutions, including Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente, Banco Popular and Banco AV Villas, which together serve individual consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporate clients.