Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) Trading Up 5.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) rose 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $75.02 and last traded at $74.92. Approximately 120,687 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 348,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on BMA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Banco Macro from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $78.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com cut Banco Macro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Banco Macro from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Banco Macro Trading Up 6.9 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.80.

Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The bank reported ($4.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($5.50). Banco Macro had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Macro S.A. will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Macro Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.798 per share. This is an increase from Banco Macro’s previous monthly dividend of $1.74. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $21.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 28.44%. Banco Macro’s payout ratio is 127.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Macro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMA. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banco Macro by 118.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Banco Macro during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Shilanski & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Banco Macro in the second quarter valued at $244,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter worth about $260,000.

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.