Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on BBVA. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Performance

Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock opened at $13.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.86 and a 200 day moving average of $11.03. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 12 month low of $9.23 and a 12 month high of $14.84.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.10% and a return on equity of 17.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the fourth quarter valued at $27,647,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,418,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,424,880 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 514.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 951,350 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,247,000 after acquiring an additional 796,526 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,333,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,108,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,654,000 after acquiring an additional 613,563 shares in the last quarter. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Company Profile

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.