Grupo Financiero Galicia Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:GGAL)

Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 6,401 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 196% compared to the average daily volume of 2,160 call options.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia stock traded up $0.69 on Thursday, hitting $49.74. 385,102 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,211,771. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.34. Grupo Financiero Galicia has a one year low of $25.89 and a one year high of $62.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. On average, research analysts expect that Grupo Financiero Galicia will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.6229 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.0%. Grupo Financiero Galicia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 214.10%.

Institutional Trading of Grupo Financiero Galicia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Grupo Financiero Galicia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Leonteq Securities AG increased its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 563.2% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,036 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 4,942.9% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,118 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia in the second quarter valued at approximately $151,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.