Short Interest in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Rises By 50.1%

Key Points

• Short interest in BBVA rose 50.1% to 1.35 million shares as of July 31, up from 896,707 shares two weeks earlier. Short interest represented 0.0% of shares outstanding, with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.0.
• Analyst sentiment remained mixed but leaned toward “Hold”: one analyst rated BBVA a Buy and seven rated it a Hold, while recent firms both upgraded and downgraded the stock.
• BBVA shares traded near their 12-month high at $28.76, compared with a $17.77 low, while the bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.62, revenue of $11.99 billion, and a 27.75% net margin.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,345,679 shares, an increase of 50.1% from the July 15th total of 896,707 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,334,647 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 120.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 76,788 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,790,000 after purchasing an additional 42,026 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 42.4% in the first quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 185,755 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,955,000 after purchasing an additional 55,304 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the first quarter valued at approximately $778,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the 1st quarter valued at $4,471,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,223,071 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,492,000 after acquiring an additional 231,330 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BBVA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Performance

Shares of BBVA traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.76. 528,089 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,860,940. The business's 50-day moving average price is $25.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.71. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a twelve month low of $17.77 and a twelve month high of $29.11. The company has a market capitalization of $164.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $11.99 billion for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 27.75% and a return on equity of 18.05%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria NYSE: BBVA is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank traces its roots to several historic regional banks and was formed through a series of mergers that consolidated its position as one of Spain's largest banking groups. BBVA operates as a universal bank offering a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients.

BBVA's core businesses include retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management, asset management, and insurance.

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