BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on BBVA Banco Frances from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BBVA Banco Frances has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.50.

BBVA Banco Frances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBAR opened at $18.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.19. BBVA Banco Frances has a 12 month low of $7.76 and a 12 month high of $22.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04 and a beta of 1.02.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $822.07 million during the quarter. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 6.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.0131 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. BBVA Banco Frances’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 54,175.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in BBVA Banco Frances during the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,000. Carter Financial Group INC. purchased a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 78.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,973 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000.

About BBVA Banco Frances

BBVA Banco Francés is one of Argentina’s leading financial institutions, operating as a subsidiary of the global banking group BBVA. The bank provides a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small and medium‐sized enterprises, large corporations and institutional clients. Its product suite spans deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and auto loans, credit and debit cards, transactional banking and digital solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of customers in both urban and regional markets.

Founded in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century, Banco Francés has developed a longstanding presence in Argentina’s financial sector.