Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BBVA. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Performance

BBVA stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.57. 1,416,907 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,786,651. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $13.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $90.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.05. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 1 year low of $9.23 and a 1 year high of $15.60.

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

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a $0.4439 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.11. This represents a dividend yield of 4.3%. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria's payout ratio is currently 39.15%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBVA. Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,647,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,418,877 shares of the bank's stock worth $72,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,424,880 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 10.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 514.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 951,350 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,247,000 after acquiring an additional 796,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,333,000. 2.96% of the stock is 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.