Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) Short Interest Up 59.6% in January

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,411,115 shares, a growth of 59.6% from the December 31st total of 1,510,457 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,999,294 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,999,294 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBVA. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the third quarter valued at approximately $876,000. Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 70,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 612.4% in the second 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 during the period. Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,342,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 781,851 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,017,000 after acquiring an additional 25,148 shares in the last quarter. 2.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE BBVA traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $25.89. 617,929 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,744,536. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a one year low of $10.77 and a one year high of $26.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.30 and a 200-day moving average of $20.34. The stock has a market cap of $149.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.82.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.47 billion. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria had a net margin of 28.58% and a return on equity of 17.07%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

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.