Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts broadly favor a “Hold” rating for BBVA: seven of eight covering analysts recommend holding the stock, while one recommends buying it. Recent rating changes included downgrades from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Bank of America.
• Institutional ownership increased among several investors, including AQR Capital Management and Jane Street, but hedge funds and other institutions collectively own just 2.96% of BBVA shares.
• BBVA shares opened at $28.79, near their 52-week high of $29.64, with the stock’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages at $27.58 and $24.32, respectively. The bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.62, $11.99 billion in revenue, a 27.75% net margin and an 18.05% return on equity.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company.

BBVA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America lowered Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBVA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 103.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 125,927 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 63,880 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 104.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 181,639 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,474,000 after acquiring an additional 92,843 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,923 shares of the bank's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 9.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 24,063 shares of the bank's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 72,881 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 22,284 shares during the last quarter. 2.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE BBVA opened at $28.79 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.58 and its 200 day moving average is $24.32. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a 52 week low of $17.90 and a 52 week high of $29.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $160.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.80.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 27.75% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The business had revenue of $11.99 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA NYSE: BBVA is a global financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank provides retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, asset management, private banking, payments and insurance-related services to individuals, businesses, institutions and public-sector customers.

BBVA traces its origins to Banco de Bilbao, founded in 1857. The modern group was formed through the merger of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Argentaria in 1999.

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