Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) Short Interest Down 24.7% in February

Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) saw a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 154,230,000 shares, a decline of 24.7% from the February 13th total of 204,950,000 shares. Currently, 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 currently 3.5 days.

Banco Bradesco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBD traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.21. The company had a trading volume of 41,547,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,550,602. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. Banco Bradesco has a fifty-two week low of $1.84 and a fifty-two week high of $2.98.

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

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 44,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 8,641 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 262,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 27,993 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 78.5% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 25,456 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 11,192 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Banco Bradesco during the third quarter worth about $1,941,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in Banco Bradesco by 176.6% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 75,525 shares of the bank’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 48,224 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Banco Bradesco

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.