Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) Short Interest Up 16.6% in February

Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 6,616,543 shares, a growth of 16.6% from the February 12th total of 5,675,493 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,072,451 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,072,451 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.2 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research cut Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Grupo Financiero Galicia from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.50.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of GGAL stock opened at $40.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.62. Grupo Financiero Galicia has a twelve month low of $25.89 and a twelve month high of $66.24. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.49.

Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The bank reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter. Grupo Financiero Galicia had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.13%. As a group, research analysts predict that Grupo Financiero Galicia will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.1541 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. This is an increase from Grupo Financiero Galicia’s previous monthly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Grupo Financiero Galicia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in the second quarter valued at $10,078,000. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its position in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 240.3% during the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 826,175 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,769,000 after buying an additional 583,403 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 215.8% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 119,514 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,294,000 after buying an additional 81,670 shares during the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC grew its holdings in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 47,030 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 19,382 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,502,000.

About Grupo Financiero Galicia

Grupo Financiero Galicia is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As one of the country’s largest private-sector financial institutions, the company provides a comprehensive suite of banking, insurance and investment products to individual, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and corporate clients. Its operations span retail and commercial banking, asset management, leasing, factoring and pension fund administration.

The core banking segment offers deposit and lending services, credit and debit cards, payment solutions and digital banking platforms.