Short Interest in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL) Grows By 27.2%

Key Points

• Short interest in Grupo Aval (NYSE:AVAL) rose 27.2% in April to 494,797 shares, producing a days-to-cover of about 3.4 days and indicating increased bearish positioning.
• AVAL shares traded down 4.2% to $4.32 mid-day, trading within a 12‑month range of $2.61–$5.28; the company has a market cap of $5.13 billion and a P/E of 12.00, with 50- and 200-day moving averages near $4.30.
• The firm declared a monthly dividend of $0.0144 (ex-dividend May 1, paid May 11) implying a ~4.0% yield and a 38.9% payout ratio, and reported quarterly EPS of $0.12 (vs. $0.10 estimate) while revenue slightly missed expectations.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 494,797 shares, a growth of 27.2% from the March 31st total of 389,042 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 147,284 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of AVAL stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.32. The stock had a trading volume of 158,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,840. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores has a 12-month low of $2.61 and a 12-month high of $5.28. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.27.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The bank reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores had a net margin of 5.06% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a $0.0144 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its holdings in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 384.3% during the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 387,400 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 307,400 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 683.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 275,148 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 240,028 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 34.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 139,173 shares of the bank's stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 35,862 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 87,317 shares of the bank's stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 18.0% in the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 72,977 shares of the bank's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 11,131 shares in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

About Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA is a leading Colombian financial holding company that offers a diversified range of banking and financial services across Latin America. As one of the largest financial conglomerates in Colombia, Grupo Aval provides commercial and retail banking, leasing, insurance brokerage, pension fund management and investment banking through its principal subsidiaries.

Its core banking operations are conducted through a network of well-established institutions, including Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente, Banco Popular and Banco AV Villas, which together serve individual consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporate clients.

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