Banco Bradesco Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BBD)

Banco Bradesco SA (NYSE:BBD) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 11,908 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 69% compared to the typical volume of 7,064 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Banco Bradesco in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Bradesco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.40.

Banco Bradesco Price Performance

BBD stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3.72. 11,947,617 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,550,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Banco Bradesco has a 12-month low of $1.84 and a 12-month high of $3.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $3.30 and its 200 day moving average is $3.02. The company has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.76.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.02). Banco Bradesco had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.75 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.0035 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is presently 5.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBD. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Banco Bradesco by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,701,855 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,485,000 after buying an additional 584,838 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in Banco Bradesco by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,803,157 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,021,000 after purchasing an additional 116,422 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Bradesco during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,113,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Bradesco by 2.5% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 21,864,348 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,757,000 after buying an additional 528,442 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 6.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,865,375 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,080,000 after acquiring an additional 351,829 shares in the last quarter.

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.