Grupo Financiero Galicia Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:GGAL)

Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 6,401 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 196% compared to the typical volume of 2,160 call options.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of GGAL stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.74. 385,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,211,771. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Grupo Financiero Galicia has a 52 week low of $25.89 and a 52 week high of $62.51. The company has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.34.

Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The bank reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Analysts anticipate that Grupo Financiero Galicia will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.6229 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.0%. Grupo Financiero Galicia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 214.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GGAL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Grupo Financiero Galicia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Grupo Financiero Galicia from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,824 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Grupo Financiero Galicia by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 54,525 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,748,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 25,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 65,810 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Grupo Financiero Galicia by 2.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,382 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the last quarter.

Grupo Financiero Galicia Company Profile

Grupo Financiero Galicia is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As one of the country’s largest private-sector financial institutions, the company provides a comprehensive suite of banking, insurance and investment products to individual, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and corporate clients. Its operations span retail and commercial banking, asset management, leasing, factoring and pension fund administration.

The core banking segment offers deposit and lending services, credit and debit cards, payment solutions and digital banking platforms.