Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 93.4% in March to 389,042 shares, leaving a short-interest ratio of about 2.9 days based on average daily volume.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.0144 per share (ex-dividend May 1, payable May 11), implying an annualized yield of about 3.9%.
• Grupo Aval beat EPS expectations ($0.12 vs. $0.10) for the quarter while missing revenue slightly, and analysts currently maintain an overall “Hold” rating on the stock.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 389,042 shares, a growth of 93.4% from the March 15th total of 201,161 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 135,261 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AVAL opened at $4.42 on Monday. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores has a 52-week low of $2.28 and a 52-week high of $5.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.28 and a 200-day moving average of $4.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The bank reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores had a net margin of 5.06% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0144 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores's payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

Institutional Trading of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. grew its stake in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. now owns 15,587 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 3,871 shares during the period. Plan A Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 3,868 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores during the 2nd quarter valued at $78,000. 0.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup cut shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold".

About Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA is a leading Colombian financial holding company that offers a diversified range of banking and financial services across Latin America. As one of the largest financial conglomerates in Colombia, Grupo Aval provides commercial and retail banking, leasing, insurance brokerage, pension fund management and investment banking through its principal subsidiaries.

Its core banking operations are conducted through a network of well-established institutions, including Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente, Banco Popular and Banco AV Villas, which together serve individual consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporate clients.

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