ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC Makes New $3.39 Million Investment in Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. $GGAL

Key Points

• ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC initiated a $3.39 million position in Grupo Financiero Galicia, buying 67,845 shares and making GGAL its 12th-largest holding at roughly 3% of the portfolio.
• Insider buying was also notable: Director Silvestre Moret purchased 224,000 shares, while company insiders acquired 802,791 shares worth approximately $4.25 million over the past three months.
• Grupo Financiero Galicia exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.14 in EPS versus $0.98 expected and $1.87 billion in revenue versus $1.70 billion forecast. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $68.33, compared with the reported share price of $44.72.

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC purchased a new position in Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 67,845 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,394,000. Grupo Financiero Galicia accounts for approximately 3.0% of ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Grupo Financiero Galicia in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 4,942.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,118 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia during the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. Leonteq Securities AG raised its stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 563.2% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,036 shares of the bank's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $151,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Silvestre Moret bought 224,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.36 per share, with a total value of $1,200,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $16,080,000. The trade was a 8.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired a total of 802,791 shares of company stock worth $4,253,109 in the last three months.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ GGAL opened at $44.72 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $47.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.72. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.28. Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. has a 52-week low of $25.89 and a 52-week high of $62.51.

Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were given a dividend of $0.0531 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. Grupo Financiero Galicia's dividend payout ratio is 23.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GGAL shares. Itau BBA Securities cut Grupo Financiero Galicia from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Grupo Financiero Galicia from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Grupo Financiero Galicia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.33.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Company Profile

Grupo Financiero Galicia SA is an Argentina-based financial services holding company whose principal operating subsidiary is Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires SAU. The group provides banking and related financial products to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, corporate clients and agricultural customers in Argentina.

Through its banking operations, Grupo Financiero Galicia offers deposit accounts, personal and commercial loans, credit and debit cards, payment services, foreign trade financing, investment products and digital banking through online and mobile platforms.

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