Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of BBVA stock opened at $24.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.82. Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria has a 1 year low of $10.60 and a 1 year high of $24.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.60.

Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBVA. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 4.6% during 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 holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 612.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 515,444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,922,000 after buying an additional 443,092 shares in the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,342,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 781,851 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,017,000 after acquiring an additional 25,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,773,000. 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.