Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE:BLX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE:BLX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 384,622 shares, a growth of 23.0% from the November 30th total of 312,717 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 152,152 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 152,152 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior by 20.3% during the second quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,718 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 6,020 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior in the 2nd quarter valued at $273,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,213,835 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,918,000 after purchasing an additional 28,375 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,968 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 4,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,485 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 19.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BLX shares. Wall Street Zen cut Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Stock Up 0.7%

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.71. 101,164 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,837. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 0.84. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has a fifty-two week low of $31.14 and a fifty-two week high of $48.38.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE:BLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $82.78 million during the quarter. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 26.58%. Research analysts expect that Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.60%.

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior Company Profile

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA, commonly known as BLADEx and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BLX, is a multilateral financial institution dedicated to promoting foreign trade and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean. Headquartered in Panama City, the bank provides specialized trade finance solutions to corporate clients and financial institutions, helping to facilitate cross-border transactions across key markets in the region. Its services encompass import and export financing, supply chain solutions, project and structured finance, as well as treasury and risk management products.

Established in 1977 by a consortium of 20 Latin American and Caribbean governments in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), BLADEx has a mandate to support economic development through trade facilitation.