Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 16.0% in March to 1,702,105 shares for BBVA, leaving a days-to-cover ratio of 0.7 and an effectively negligible percentage of the stock reported as shorted.
• Dividend announced: BBVA will pay $0.7084 per share on April 27 to holders of record April 9 (ex-dividend April 9), with the report citing a stated yield of 626.0%.
• Stock and results: BBVA traded at $23.81 with a $137.24 billion market cap and a P/E of 12.09; the bank posted $0.50 EPS (in line with estimates) and revenue of $11.49 billion, beating expectations.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,702,105 shares, a decline of 16.0% from the March 15th total of 2,026,265 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,358,047 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Performance

NYSE BBVA traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,023,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,022,677. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.31 and a 200 day moving average of $22.08. The stock has a market cap of $137.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.86. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a 52-week low of $13.24 and a 52-week high of $26.20.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.29% and a net margin of 28.43%.The firm had revenue of $11.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.74 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.7084 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 626.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.38%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBVA. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 63,880 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 104.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 181,639 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,474,000 after purchasing an additional 92,843 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,923 shares of the bank's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 24,063 shares of the bank's stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 72,881 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 22,284 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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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