Short Interest in Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) Drops By 16.6%

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BMA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Banco Macro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Banco Macro from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, August 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Macro

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new stake in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,038,000. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $260,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Macro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $854,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Banco Macro by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 64,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,084,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the period.

Banco Macro Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:BMA traded down $0.70 on Monday, hitting $74.13. The stock had a trading volume of 141,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,693. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.12. Banco Macro has a 1-year low of $17.30 and a 1-year high of $76.63.

Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The bank reported ($4.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Banco Macro will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Macro Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.798 dividend. This is a positive change from Banco Macro's previous monthly dividend of $1.74. This represents a $21.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 29.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Banco Macro's dividend payout ratio is currently 127.41%.

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.