BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Trading Down 5.2% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• BBVA Banco Frances shares experienced a decline of 5.2%, closing at $9.46 after a trading day low of $9.33, with share volume increasing by 18% from its average.
• Wall Street analysts are divided on the stock's performance, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Strong Sell, and a consensus target price of $20.67 despite recent upgrades and downgrades.
• The bank reported a missed EPS estimate, with a $0.24 EPS against a consensus of $0.37, and announced a monthly dividend of $0.0311 per share, while cutting the annualized yield to 4.0%.

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report) shares were down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $9.33 and last traded at $9.46. Approximately 1,046,793 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 886,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BBAR shares. HSBC upgraded BBVA Banco Frances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $21.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup lowered BBVA Banco Frances from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded BBVA Banco Frances to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research lowered BBVA Banco Frances from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of BBVA Banco Frances from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.67.

BBVA Banco Frances Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $11.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.84.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $524.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $727.31 billion. BBVA Banco Frances had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 6.65%. Analysts anticipate that BBVA Banco Frances S.A. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $0.0311 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. BBVA Banco Frances's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBAR. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 27.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,303 shares of the bank's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 43.1% in the first quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 85,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 25,600 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 89.2% in the first 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 during the last quarter. North of South Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the first quarter valued at about $544,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the first quarter valued at about $224,000.

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.

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