Is Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBVA) a good equity to bet on right now? We like to check what the smart money thinks first before doing extensive research. Although there have been several high profile failed hedge fund picks, the consensus picks among hedge fund investors have historically outperformed the market after adjusting for known risk attributes. It’s not surprising given that hedge funds have access to better information and more resources to find the latest market-moving information.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBVA) registered an increase in hedge fund sentiment last quarter. There were six hedge funds in our database with BBVA holdings at the end of September. At the end of this article we will also compare BBVA to other stocks including T MOBILE US INC (NYSE:TMUS), Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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Now, let’s take a peek at the recent action regarding Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBVA).
What does the smart money think about Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBVA)?
At Q3’s end, a total of six of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, versus three funds at the end of June. By comparison, six hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in BBVA heading into this year. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Millennium Management, one of the 10 largest hedge funds in the world, holds the number one position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBVA). Millennium Management has a $0.9 million position in the stock. The second most bullish fund manager is Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP holding a $0.3 million position. Remaining members of the smart money that hold long positions encompass Mike Vranos’ Ellington, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management. We should note that none of these hedge funds are among our list of the 100 best performing hedge funds which is based on the performance of their 13F long positions in non-microcap stocks.
As aggregate interest increased, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Marshall Wace LLP established the most outsized position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBVA). Ellington also made a $0.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new BBVA position is Renaissance Technologies.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBVA) but similarly valued. We will take a look at T MOBILE US INC (NYSE:TMUS), Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), and TransCanada Corporation (USA) (NYSE:TRP). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to BBVA’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| TMUS | 58 | 3343677 | 6 |
| BDX | 31 | 683139 | -10 |
| NOC | 37 | 1229934 | -7 |
| TRP | 14 | 331601 | -4 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 35 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.40 billion. That figure was $2 million in BBVA’s case. T MOBILE US INC (NYSE:TMUS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand TransCanada Corporation (USA) (NYSE:TRP) is the least popular one with only 14 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBVA) is even less popular than TRP. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.
Disclosure: None
