BanColombia (NYSE:CIB) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded BanColombia (NYSE:CIB) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, following a general trend of mixed recommendations from various analysts.
• In contrast, Bank of America upgraded BanColombia from "underperform" to "neutral," increasing its price target from $41.00 to $49.00.
• BanColombia reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.66, with a revenue of $1.80 billion compared to analyst expectations of $1.75 billion.

BanColombia (NYSE:CIB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CIB. Bank of America raised shares of BanColombia from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $41.00 to $49.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of BanColombia in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.75.

BanColombia Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIB traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.40. 250,142 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,827. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $46.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.12 billion, a PE ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.96. BanColombia has a 12 month low of $30.65 and a 12 month high of $50.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

BanColombia (NYSE:CIB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The bank reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. BanColombia had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 19.77%. Equities research analysts expect that BanColombia will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BanColombia

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CIB. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of BanColombia in the fourth quarter worth about $24,801,000. RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of BanColombia in the first quarter worth about $12,536,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BanColombia by 527.0% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 316,877 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,738,000 after acquiring an additional 266,341 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of BanColombia by 29.8% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 863,718 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,895,000 after acquiring an additional 198,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in shares of BanColombia in the second quarter worth about $8,619,000.

About BanColombia

Bancolombia SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking products and services in Colombia and internationally. The company operates through nine segments: Banking Colombia, Banking Panama, Banking El Salvador, Banking Guatemala, Trust, Investment Banking, Brokerage, International Banking, and All Other.