Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 743,500 shares, a growth of 112.4% from the May 14th total of 350,050 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 281,965 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Price Performance

NYSE AVAL traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 603,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,084. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores has a fifty-two week low of $2.72 and a fifty-two week high of $5.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.39. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 0.61.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The bank reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores had a return on equity of 6.24% and a net margin of 4.99%. Analysts forecast that Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.0144 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVAL. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 73.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 60,733 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 25,753 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the 2nd quarter valued at $155,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new position in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the 2nd quarter valued at $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Company Profile

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA is a leading Colombian financial holding company that offers a diversified range of banking and financial services across Latin America. As one of the largest financial conglomerates in Colombia, Grupo Aval provides commercial and retail banking, leasing, insurance brokerage, pension fund management and investment banking through its principal subsidiaries.

Its core banking operations are conducted through a network of well-established institutions, including Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente, Banco Popular and Banco AV Villas, which together serve individual consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporate clients.