BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.6667.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a report on Monday, December 29th.

BBVA Banco Frances Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BBAR stock opened at $14.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. BBVA Banco Frances has a fifty-two week low of $7.76 and a fifty-two week high of $23.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.10.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $337.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $874.92 billion. BBVA Banco Frances had a return on equity of 6.55% and a net margin of 3.70%. On average, analysts anticipate that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.037 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This is a positive change from BBVA Banco Frances’s previous monthly dividend of $0.04. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. BBVA Banco Frances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in BBVA Banco Frances in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,042,000. PointState Capital LP raised its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 2,668,038 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,978 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 3,633.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 613,832 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,092,000 after purchasing an additional 597,392 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the fourth quarter worth $224,000. Finally, GAM Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 70.5% in the fourth quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 49,361 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 20,402 shares during the period.

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.