BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Trading Up 3.9% – Should You Buy?

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) traded up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $15.03 and last traded at $15.0380. Approximately 281,923 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 691,538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBAR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered BBVA Banco Frances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised BBVA Banco Frances from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on BBVA Banco Frances from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BBVA Banco Frances presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.50.

BBVA Banco Frances Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.72.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The bank reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $716.56 million during the quarter. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 7.56%. On average, analysts forecast that BBVA Banco Frances S.A. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBAR. Channing Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the 4th quarter worth approximately $507,000. Fourth Sail Capital LP increased its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 2,847,061 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,446,000 after purchasing an additional 177,799 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in BBVA Banco Frances in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,042,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 19,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 263.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 16,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 12,200 shares during the last quarter.

BBVA Banco Frances Company Profile

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.