Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . 4,836,570 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 133% from the previous session’s volume of 2,071,474 shares.The stock last traded at $22.7450 and had previously closed at $23.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBVA has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Stock Down 2.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $130.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.87 and a 200 day moving average of $20.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 17.29% and a net margin of 28.43%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,672 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,987 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 109.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,703 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. purchased a new stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co acquired a new position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the fourth quarter worth $395,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 500,873 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,675,000 after buying an additional 28,735 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

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.