Wall Street Zen Downgrades Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, signaling a shift in investor sentiment.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts like Barclays have raised their ratings, with a consensus rating still at "Buy" from multiple analysts.
• Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.52, exceeding expectations, and the company has a market capitalization of $114.19 billion.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on BBVA. Barclays raised shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Price Performance

NYSE:BBVA opened at $19.56 on Friday. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a one year low of $9.23 and a one year high of $20.00. The company has a market cap of $114.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $18.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.24 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 29.17% and a return on equity of 17.61%. Equities analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBVA. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 105.9% in the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,845 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 224.7% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,607 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.96% of the company's stock.

About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance.

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