Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) Share Price Breaks Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Grupo Aval shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $4.70 versus the $4.77 average, and last changing hands at $4.7570.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: two analysts rate the stock “Hold” and one rates it “Sell,” resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $5.00 target price.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.0165 per share, equivalent to approximately $0.20 annually and a 4.2% yield; its payout ratio is 40%.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $4.77 and traded as low as $4.70. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores shares last traded at $4.7570, with a volume of 251,420 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on AVAL shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $5.00 price target (down from $5.50) on shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $5.00.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.13 and a 200 day moving average of $4.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.59.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.0165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 26th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 132,619 shares of the bank's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 8,692 shares in the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC now owns 71,955 shares of the bank's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores during the 3rd quarter valued at $99,000. Institutional investors own 0.21% of the company's stock.

About Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA is a Colombian financial holding company whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange through American depositary receipts. The company coordinates a diversified group of financial businesses, with banking as its principal activity.

Through its subsidiaries, Grupo Aval provides commercial and consumer banking, corporate lending, mortgage financing, credit cards, leasing, fiduciary and trust services, securities brokerage, investment banking, and pension and severance-fund administration.

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