Banco Santander Brasil (NYSE:BSBR) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 2,914,803 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 60% from the previous session’s volume of 1,819,791 shares.The stock last traded at $5.9650 and had previously closed at $5.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BSBR. Wall Street Zen lowered Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banco Santander Brasil from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Banco Santander Brasil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. UBS Group cut Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Banco Santander Brasil from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $6.50 to $6.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco Santander Brasil presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Banco Santander Brasil Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.73.

Banco Santander Brasil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were issued a $0.1045 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rudolf Gschliffner sold 11,507 shares of Banco Santander Brasil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.73, for a total transaction of $65,935.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 33,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,190.16. This trade represents a 25.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Cezar Augusto Janikian sold 6,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.72, for a total transaction of $37,752.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 47,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $268,880.04. This represents a 12.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders purchased 425,330 shares of company stock worth $2,261,593 and sold 159,435 shares worth $911,605. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Brasil

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 17.0% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,957,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,531,000 after acquiring an additional 430,531 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander Brasil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,772,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in Banco Santander Brasil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,735,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Banco Santander Brasil by 99.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 327,261 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 163,314 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander Brasil by 2,671.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 326,451 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 314,670 shares during the period. 14.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Banco Santander Brasil

Banco Santander Brasil SA is the Brazilian unit of Spain-based Grupo Santander and one of the country’s major commercial banks. Headquartered in São Paulo, the bank serves a broad client base across Brazil through an integrated network of branches, ATMs and digital channels. Its shares are represented abroad via American Depositary Shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BSBR.

The bank offers a full range of financial products and services for retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate clients.