BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.6667.

Several research analysts have recently commented on BBAR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded BBVA Banco Frances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research raised BBVA Banco Frances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup raised BBVA Banco Frances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BBVA Banco Frances in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of BBVA Banco Frances to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fourth Sail Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,399,000. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd grew its holdings in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 103.8% during the 4th quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 1,141,305 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,623,000 after acquiring an additional 581,305 shares during the period. Ping Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,050,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,740,000 after purchasing an additional 304,600 shares during the period. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of BBVA Banco Frances during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,168,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in BBVA Banco Frances by 9.8% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,021,521 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,274,000 after purchasing an additional 180,137 shares during the period.

BBVA Banco Frances Trading Down 1.1%

BBAR stock opened at $20.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. BBVA Banco Frances has a one year low of $7.76 and a one year high of $23.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.60.

BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The bank reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $865.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $871.10 billion. BBVA Banco Frances had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 7.43%. As a group, analysts predict that BBVA Banco Frances will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BBVA Banco Frances Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.0336 per share. This is an increase from BBVA Banco Frances’s previous monthly dividend of $0.03. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. BBVA Banco Frances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.11%.

About BBVA Banco Frances

BBVA Banco Francés is one of Argentina’s leading financial institutions, operating as a subsidiary of the global banking group BBVA. The bank provides a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small and medium‐sized enterprises, large corporations and institutional clients. Its product suite spans deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and auto loans, credit and debit cards, transactional banking and digital solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of customers in both urban and regional markets.

Founded in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century, Banco Francés has developed a longstanding presence in Argentina’s financial sector.