Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the three research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of BBVA traded up $0.12 on Monday, hitting $15.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,048,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,842,990. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $14.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.54. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a fifty-two week low of $9.23 and a fifty-two week high of $15.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.08.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.10% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $10.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.12 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.4439 per share. This is a boost from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a yield of 4.3%. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,481,085 shares of the bank's stock worth $111,596,000 after buying an additional 163,044 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 10.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,941,273 shares of the bank's stock worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014,305 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,418,877 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424,880 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 6.6% during the first quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 5,578,381 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,978,000 after purchasing an additional 347,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,108,410 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,654,000 after purchasing an additional 613,563 shares in the last quarter. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Company Profile

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance.