Courtesy of Benzinga.
Bank of America upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE: BBVA) from Underperform to Neutral Monday and cut its price target from $11 to $10.49.
The analyst report noted that the share price is down 9 percent YTD and now offers little downside.
Analysts led by Sergio Gamez noted that “BBVA announced on 19 November the acquisition of 14.89 percent stake in Garanti from the Dogus group, increasing its share to 39.9 percent at a max TRY8.9/sh (no premium to the closing price).”
“To fund the transaction, BBVA declared a €2bn accelerated bookbuilding offer, implying a c.4 percent share-count increase. The deal adds c.1 percent to 2015-16E EPS and is NAPVS accretive on our estimates,” according to Gamez
Gamez observed that the “acquisition makes BBVA the main shareholder (39.9 percent) in a leading franchise (c.11percent market share) in the attractive Turkish banking sector. It also adds potential growth to BBVA’s P&L and increases the group’s geographical diversification.”
“Our main concern relates to geopolitical risk in Turkey and the franchises in Venezuela and Argentina,” the report concluded.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria recently traded at $10.60, up 2.32 percent.
Latest Ratings for BBVA
Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 2014 | Bank of America | Upgrades | Underperform | Neutral |
Oct 2014 | Deutsche Bank | Upgrades | Hold | Buy |
Nov 2013 | Bank of America | Downgrades | Neutral | Underperform |
View More Analyst Ratings for BBVA
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
Posted-In: Bank of America Sergio GamezAnalyst Color Upgrades Price Target Analyst Ratings