Short Interest in BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) Declines By 40.4%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 40.4% to 1,059,497 shares as of July 31, representing 0.5% of BBAR’s outstanding shares and 2.3 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: BBAR has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $18.50, with UBS raising its target to $20 while maintaining a neutral rating.
• BBAR reported quarterly EPS of $0.28 on $822.07 million in revenue and recently paid a monthly dividend of $0.0131 per share, equivalent to an approximately 1.0% annualized yield.

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,059,497 shares, a decrease of 40.4% from the July 15th total of 1,778,693 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 450,863 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBAR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of BBVA Banco Frances from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BBVA Banco Frances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.50.

BBVA Banco Frances Stock Performance

NYSE:BBAR opened at $15.36 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. BBVA Banco Frances has a twelve month low of $7.76 and a twelve month high of $22.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.02.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $822.07 million during the quarter. BBVA Banco Frances had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 3.44%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.0131 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. BBVA Banco Frances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BBVA Banco Frances

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Carter Financial Group INC. purchased a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the first quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BBVA Banco Frances in the fourth quarter valued at $4,042,000. PointState Capital LP grew its holdings in BBVA Banco Frances by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 2,668,038 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,978 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 3,633.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 613,832 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,092,000 after buying an additional 597,392 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BBVA Banco Frances during the 4th quarter worth $224,000.

BBVA Banco Frances Company Profile

BBVA Banco Francés is one of Argentina's leading financial institutions, operating as a subsidiary of the global banking group BBVA. The bank provides a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small and medium‐sized enterprises, large corporations and institutional clients. Its product suite spans deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and auto loans, credit and debit cards, transactional banking and digital solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of customers in both urban and regional markets.

Founded in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century, Banco Francés has developed a longstanding presence in Argentina's financial sector.

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