Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:BBVA traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, reaching $24.78. 350,562 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,794,845. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.72 and a 200-day moving average of $19.85. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a 52-week low of $10.77 and a 52-week high of $25.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.82.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.58% and a return on equity of 17.07%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBVA. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,062 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 14,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,390 shares of the bank’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,039 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Company Profile

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank traces its roots to several historic regional banks and was formed through a series of mergers that consolidated its position as one of Spain’s largest banking groups. BBVA operates as a universal bank offering a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients.

BBVA’s core businesses include retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management, asset management, and insurance.