Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $76.33 and last traded at $75.74, with a volume of 18069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Banco Macro Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.80. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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. Analysts anticipate that Banco Macro S.A. will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Banco Macro Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $21.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 28.79%. This is a boost from Banco Macro’s previous monthly dividend of $1.74. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Banco Macro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 127.41%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Macro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fourth Sail Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Banco Macro in the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,038,000. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Macro during the first quarter valued at about $260,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Macro during the first quarter worth about $261,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Macro in the first quarter worth about $854,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period.

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.