Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 832,100 shares, an increase of 11.6% from the May 31st total of 745,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 436,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Banco Macro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Macro

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Banco Macro by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 208,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,997,000 after buying an additional 73,524 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,475,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Glenorchy Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,217,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Macro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,462,000.

Banco Macro Trading Up 1.4 %

BMA traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.60. 153,434 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 401,078. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Banco Macro has a one year low of $17.30 and a one year high of $68.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.24.

Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The bank reported $5.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $2.83. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter. Banco Macro had a return on equity of 37.91% and a net margin of 16.33%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Banco Macro will post 11.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Macro Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $1.742 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $20.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 37.60%. This is a positive change from Banco Macro’s previous monthly dividend of $0.43. Banco Macro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 123.45%.

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.