BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• BBVA Banco Frances shares have hit a new 52-week low at $9.78, down from a previous close of $12.33, with 114,156 shares traded.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock, with a target price of $22.50.
• The company announced a monthly dividend of $0.0221, resulting in a dividend yield of 2.7%, with a payout ratio of 20.15%.

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday after Citigroup downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $10.00 and last traded at $9.78, with a volume of 114156 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.33.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. Zacks Research downgraded BBVA Banco Frances from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities started coverage on BBVA Banco Frances in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 199.9% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,381 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,303 shares of the bank's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the 1st quarter valued at about $211,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 123.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,301 shares of the bank's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,450 shares during the last quarter.

BBVA Banco Frances Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.28.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The bank reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.13). BBVA Banco Frances had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 6.65%.The firm had revenue of $524.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $727.31 billion. On average, analysts expect that BBVA Banco Frances S.A. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.0221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. BBVA Banco Frances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.15%.

BBVA Banco Frances Company Profile

Banco BBVA Argentina SA provides various banking products and services to individuals and companies in Argentina. The company provides retail banking products and services, such as checking and savings accounts, time deposits, credit cards financing, consumer and pledge loans, mortgages, insurance, and investment products to individuals; and small and medium-sized companies products and services, including financing products, factoring, checking accounts, time deposits, transactional and payroll services, insurance, and investment products to private-sector companies.