Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 154,230,000 shares, a decrease of 24.7% from the February 13th total of 204,950,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 44,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Bradesco in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Banco Bradesco in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Traveka Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Bradesco in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Banco Bradesco by 54.5% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 17,012 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banco Bradesco by 78.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 20,055 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 8,801 shares in the last quarter.

Banco Bradesco Price Performance

Shares of Banco Bradesco stock opened at $2.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Banco Bradesco has a fifty-two week low of $1.84 and a fifty-two week high of $2.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.28. The company has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a PE ratio of 7.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.94.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The bank reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. Banco Bradesco had a net margin of 8.46% and a return on equity of 11.43%. Analysts expect that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.0033 dividend. This is a boost from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Banco Bradesco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BBD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Banco Bradesco from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Bradesco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $2.40 to $2.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2.80 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th.

Banco Bradesco Company Profile

Banco Bradesco SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, corporates, and businesses in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It provides current, savings, click, and salary accounts; real estate credit, vehicle financing, payroll loans, mortgage loans, microcredit, leasing, and personal and installment credit; overdraft and agribusiness loans; debit and business cards; financial and security services; consortium products; car, personal accident, dental, travel, and life insurance; investment products; pension products; foreign currency exchange services; capitalization bonds; and internet banking services.