Wall Street Zen Upgrades Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) to Buy

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Price Performance

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria stock opened at $23.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.21. The stock has a market cap of $135.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.80. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a 12-month low of $11.59 and a 12-month high of $26.20.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $11.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.74 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.29% and a net margin of 28.43%. Equities analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the third quarter worth $876,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the third quarter valued at $2,478,000. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.6% during the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 70,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,066 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 612.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 515,444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,922,000 after purchasing an additional 443,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beck Bode LLC acquired a new position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,342,000. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.