Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays downgraded BBVA from "strong-buy" to "hold," and along with other recent downgrades the stock's average analyst rating is now Hold (one Buy, four Holds).
• BBVA shares opened at $23.01 (down ~1.3%), trading near their 50- and 200-day moving averages (~$22.3 and $22.05) with a 52-week range of $13.24–$26.20 and a market cap of about $132.6 billion.
• In its most recent quarter BBVA reported EPS of $0.50 (in line) and revenue of $11.49 billion (above consensus), analysts project ~1.59 EPS for the year, and several institutional investors (including AQR, Jane Street and Russell) have recently increased their stakes.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Barclays from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

BBVA has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Down 1.3%

BBVA opened at $23.01 on Wednesday. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a 52-week low of $13.24 and a 52-week high of $26.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.05. The company has a market cap of $132.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.86.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $11.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.74 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBVA. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 103.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 125,927 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 63,880 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 104.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 181,639 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,474,000 after acquiring an additional 92,843 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,923 shares of the bank's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 9.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 24,063 shares of the bank's stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 2,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 44.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 72,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 22,284 shares during the period. 2.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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