Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. $GGAL Position Boosted by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS increased its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 146.7% in Q4, owning 782,969 shares (about 0.53% of the company) worth roughly $42.2 million after buying an additional 465,639 shares.
• Grupo Financiero Galicia declared a $0.6229 dividend to be paid in May, with a dividend payout ratio of about 99.49%, indicating a very high portion of earnings being returned to shareholders.
• Shares trade around $43.44 (50-day MA $44.97, 200-day MA $48.92) with a 52-week range of $25.89–$65.48 and a market cap of $6.98 billion; Wall Street’s consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $65.50, after the firm reported a quarterly EPS of -$0.36 and analysts forecast ~3.66 EPS for the year.

UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL - Free Report) by 146.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 782,969 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 465,639 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.53% of Grupo Financiero Galicia worth $42,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 1.9% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,824 shares of the bank's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 54,525 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,748,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 131.6% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 938 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 1.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 65,810 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Deltec Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 10.4% during the third quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 21,300 shares of the bank's stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GGAL opened at $43.44 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $44.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.92. Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. has a 52 week low of $25.89 and a 52 week high of $65.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The bank reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter. Grupo Financiero Galicia had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The firm had revenue of $666.89 million during the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.6229 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Grupo Financiero Galicia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGAL has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grupo Financiero Galicia has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.50.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Profile

Grupo Financiero Galicia is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As one of the country's largest private-sector financial institutions, the company provides a comprehensive suite of banking, insurance and investment products to individual, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and corporate clients. Its operations span retail and commercial banking, asset management, leasing, factoring and pension fund administration.

The core banking segment offers deposit and lending services, credit and debit cards, payment solutions and digital banking platforms.

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