Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. (NYSE:BLX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. (NYSE:BLX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 186,200 shares, a growth of 107.8% from the February 28th total of 89,600 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 127,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. stock traded down $0.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.82. 195,771 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 123,643. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $38.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.56. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. has a 1-year low of $27.37 and a 1-year high of $42.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. (NYSE:BLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.33. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. had a net margin of 24.29% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $78.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.84 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.79%. This is a boost from Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,603,000. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 124,864 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,441,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 14,497 shares of the bank’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.47% of the company’s stock.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A. Company Profile

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A., a multinational bank, primarily engages in the financing of foreign trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Treasury. It offers bilateral loans; structured loans including syndicated and clubbed, such as acquisition and pre-export financing, A/B loan financing, bridge loans, and liability management; and project financing.