Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BMA. Bank of America raised shares of Banco Macro from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the company from $53.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Banco Macro from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the company from $14.00 to $78.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th.

Banco Macro Price Performance

Banco Macro stock opened at $74.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.06 and a 200-day moving average of $55.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.80. Banco Macro has a 52-week low of $17.30 and a 52-week high of $76.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The bank reported ($4.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($5.50). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter. Banco Macro had a net margin of 12.58% and a return on equity of 25.97%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Banco Macro will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Banco Macro Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.798 per share. This represents a $21.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 29.13%. This is an increase from Banco Macro’s previous monthly dividend of $1.74. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Banco Macro’s dividend payout ratio is 127.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Banco Macro during the 4th quarter valued at $1,475,000. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in Banco Macro during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,236,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Banco Macro by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 64,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,084,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter valued at $348,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter valued at $854,000.

About Banco Macro

Banco Macro SA provides various banking products and services to retail and corporate customers in Argentina. It offers various retail banking products and services, such as savings and checking accounts, time deposits, credit and debit cards, consumer finance loans, mortgage loans, automobile loans, overdrafts, credit-related services, home and car insurance coverage, tax collection, utility payments, automated teller machines, and money transfers.