Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 719,700 shares, a decrease of 16.6% from the September 15th total of 863,400 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 280,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMA has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco Macro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Banco Macro from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $78.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Banco Macro from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Macro

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Macro during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Shilanski & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Banco Macro during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $260,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000.

Banco Macro Price Performance

BMA stock traded down $2.43 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.54. 164,172 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 354,190. Banco Macro has a one year low of $17.30 and a one year high of $76.63. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The bank reported ($4.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($5.50). Banco Macro had a net margin of 12.58% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Banco Macro will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.798 dividend. This represents a $21.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 29.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Banco Macro’s previous monthly dividend of $1.74. Banco Macro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.41%.

Banco Macro Company Profile

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.