Short Interest in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Expands By 50.1%

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,345,679 shares, an increase of 50.1% from the July 15th total of 896,707 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,334,647 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BBVA shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 1,819.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,616,734 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,306,000 after acquiring an additional 3,428,336 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,288,196 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $142,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034,318 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 373.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 768,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,789,000 after purchasing an additional 605,947 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 532.8% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 536,417 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,504,000 after purchasing an additional 451,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,481,671 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,539,000 after purchasing an additional 439,098 shares in the last quarter. 2.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Trading Down 0.5%

BBVA traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.64. 731,975 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,857,793. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a one year low of $17.77 and a one year high of $29.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.80.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 27.75% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The firm had revenue of $11.99 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank traces its roots to several historic regional banks and was formed through a series of mergers that consolidated its position as one of Spain’s largest banking groups. BBVA operates as a universal bank offering a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients.

BBVA’s core businesses include retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management, asset management, and insurance.