Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BMA. Bank of America raised 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 research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Banco Macro from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th.

Banco Macro Price Performance

Shares of BMA opened at $69.55 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.02. Banco Macro has a fifty-two week low of $17.30 and a fifty-two week high of $70.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($5.50). Banco Macro had a net margin of 12.58% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Banco Macro will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Macro

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Macro in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,475,000. HAP Trading LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Macro by 148.7% during the 4th quarter. HAP Trading LLC now owns 36,736 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,054,000 after buying an additional 21,964 shares during the period. Fourth Sail Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Banco Macro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,038,000. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Macro during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the 1st quarter valued at $261,000.

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 (ATMs), and money transfers.