Traders Buy High Volume of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Call Options (NYSE:BBVA)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 7,144 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 15,430% compared to the average daily volume of 46 call options.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BBVA traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.87. 257,835 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,470,204. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.47. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a 52 week low of $7.76 and a 52 week high of $12.20. The company has a market cap of $57.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.30.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The bank reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 27.55% and a return on equity of 16.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.3244 per share. This is a boost from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.11. This represents a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BBVA. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBVA. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 109,672 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 16,192 shares of the bank’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the bank’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 27,141 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 10.0% in the second quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 12,751 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and internationally. The company offers savings account, demand deposits, and time deposits; and loan products, such as residential mortgages, other households, credit card loans, loans to enterprises and public sector, as well as consumer finance.