Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE:BLX) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 53.6% in September

Key Points

• BLX short interest rose 53.6% to 708,379 shares as of September 15, representing 1.9% of shares outstanding and a 4.4-day days-to-cover ratio.
• Despite a slight Weiss Ratings downgrade to “buy (a-),” the stock retained a “Strong Buy” consensus rating based on MarketBeat data; institutional investors own 19.47% of the company.
• BLX shares opened at $55.04, while the bank reported quarterly earnings of $1.77 per share and maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.6875, equivalent to a 5.0% annualized yield.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE:BLX - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 708,379 shares, a growth of 53.6% from the August 31st total of 461,132 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 161,698 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy".

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior stock. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE:BLX - Free Report) by 63.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,316 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 2,827 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior were worth $374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.47% of the company's stock.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Price Performance

Shares of BLX opened at $55.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has a one year low of $38.41 and a one year high of $63.19. The stock's fifty day moving average is $55.81 and its 200-day moving average is $55.72.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE:BLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $98.90 million during the quarter. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior had a net margin of 27.77% and a return on equity of 13.77%.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.6875 dividend. This represents a $2.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.38%.

About Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, SA, commonly known as Bladex, is a specialized multinational bank headquartered in Panama. Established in 1975 at the initiative of central banks and other public-sector institutions in Latin America, the bank was created to support and expand the region's international trade.

Bladex provides trade-finance and banking services to financial institutions, corporations and other eligible clients. Its offerings include commercial loans, letters of credit, guarantees, working-capital financing, deposit products and treasury services.

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