BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Trading 9.5% Higher - Here's Why

Key Points

• BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) shares increased by 9.5% on Thursday, reaching a high of $9.11, while the trading volume was down 36% from its average.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on BBVA Banco Frances, with one strong buy, two buys, three holds, and one sell, resulting in an average rating of "Hold" with a target price of $20.67.
• The company recently declared a monthly dividend of $0.0335 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of approximately 29.85%.

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report) shares traded up 9.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.90 and last traded at $9.11. 547,225 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 861,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBAR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. HSBC raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $21.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.67.

BBVA Banco Frances Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 1.13. The company's fifty day moving average is $11.85 and its 200 day moving average is $16.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The bank reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $727.31 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that BBVA Banco Frances S.A. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.0335 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. BBVA Banco Frances's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 2,203.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 96,090 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 91,919 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 50,992 shares of the bank's stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 11,984 shares during the period. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC raised its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 30,417 shares of the bank's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 43.1% in the 1st quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 85,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 89.2% during the 1st quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 23,465 shares of the bank's stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter.

About BBVA Banco Frances

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.

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