Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Macro Bank's shares experienced an uptick in trading volume with 393,265 shares traded, despite a 4% decline from the previous session.
• The company's stock was recently downgraded by Zacks Research and Citigroup, now holding an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $62.17.
• Macro Bank announced a monthly dividend increase to $0.3665 per share, offering an annual yield of 8.8%, with the payment date set for September 26th.

Macro Bank Inc. (NYSE:BMA - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 393,265 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the previous session's volume of 408,993 shares.The stock last traded at $51.17 and had previously closed at $47.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BMA. Zacks Research downgraded Macro Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Citigroup downgraded Macro Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.17.

Macro Bank Stock Up 4.5%

The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.14 and a 200-day moving average of $73.84.

Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.04). Macro Bank had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The company had revenue of $834.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $752.51 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Macro Bank Inc. will post 7.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macro Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.3665 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is an increase from Macro Bank's previous monthly dividend of $0.37. Macro Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.48%.

Institutional Trading of Macro Bank

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shilanski & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Macro Bank by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. now owns 4,773 shares of the bank's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Macro Bank by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 775 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Macro Bank by 31.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,029 shares of the bank's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Macro Bank by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the bank's stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Macro Bank by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,539 shares of the bank's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter.

About Macro Bank

Banco Macro SA provides various banking products and services to retail and corporate customers in Argentina. It offers various retail banking products and services, such as savings and checking accounts, time deposits, credit and debit cards, consumer finance loans, mortgage loans, automobile loans, overdrafts, credit-related services, home and car insurance coverage, tax collection, utility payments, automated teller machines, and money transfers.

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