Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.22 and last traded at $24.1940, with a volume of 1066252 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BBVA shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.40. The company has a market cap of $138.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.82.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 28.58%. Research analysts anticipate that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 28.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,288,196 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $142,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,034,318 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,616,619 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $125,914,000 after purchasing an additional 40,320 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 5,755,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $110,788,000 after purchasing an additional 113,250 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 6.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,846,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $93,288,000 after purchasing an additional 297,752 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 17.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,375,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,247,000 after buying an additional 637,519 shares during the last quarter. 2.96% of the stock is owned by 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.