Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Downgraded by Barclays

Barclays cut shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has an average rating of Moderate Buy.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBVA opened at $11.84 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.09. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a twelve month low of $6.47 and a twelve month high of $11.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.31.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.1695 per share. This is a boost from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a yield of 4.3%. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBVA. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 21.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 733,348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,173,000 after buying an additional 129,165 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 6.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 643,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,664,000 after buying an additional 41,706 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.0% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 393,935 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,241,000 after buying an additional 15,070 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 32.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 35,093 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 8,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 24.6% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,972 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 3,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance.