BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• BBVA Banco Frances has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, which may positively influence investor sentiment.
• Itau BBA Securities has initiated coverage with a "market perform" rating and set a target price of $18.00 for the stock.
• In its latest earnings report, BBVA Banco Frances posted earnings per share of $0.28, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a revenue shortfall compared to consensus estimates.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Itau BBA Securities began coverage on BBVA Banco Frances in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock.

BBVA Banco Frances Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBAR opened at $15.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.18. BBVA Banco Frances has a 12 month low of $7.05 and a 12 month high of $25.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $667.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $751.69 billion. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 13.53%. As a group, analysts predict that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBAR. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 27.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,303 shares of the bank's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 52,270 shares of the bank's stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 16,521 shares of the bank's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. 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 during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in BBVA Banco Frances by 66.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,523 shares of the bank's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 9,764 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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