Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL) Short Interest Update

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 743,500 shares, an increase of 112.4% from the May 14th total of 350,050 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 281,965 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of AVAL traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 603,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 326,916. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores has a 52 week low of $2.72 and a 52 week high of $5.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.39.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (NYSE:AVAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The bank reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 6.24%. On average, analysts predict that Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.0144 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores’s payout ratio is presently 37.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVAL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the second quarter worth $34,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. increased its stake in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 33.0% in the third quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. now owns 15,587 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 3,871 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the first quarter worth $55,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the second quarter worth $78,000. 0.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA is a leading Colombian financial holding company that offers a diversified range of banking and financial services across Latin America. As one of the largest financial conglomerates in Colombia, Grupo Aval provides commercial and retail banking, leasing, insurance brokerage, pension fund management and investment banking through its principal subsidiaries.

Its core banking operations are conducted through a network of well-established institutions, including Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente, Banco Popular and Banco AV Villas, which together serve individual consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporate clients.