Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 79.4% in September

Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,921,853 shares, a growth of 79.4% from the August 31st total of 4,416,949 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,068,939 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Banco Santander Brasil news, insider Gustavo De Sousa Santos sold 29,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.70, for a total transaction of $166,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 53,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,231.10. This trade represents a 35.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mariana Cahen Margulies sold 42,545 shares of Banco Santander Brasil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.70, for a total value of $242,506.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,567.50. This trade represents a 51.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 233,438 shares of company stock valued at $1,338,299 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander Brasil in the fourth quarter worth about $4,735,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in Banco Santander Brasil by 765.6% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 139,178 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 123,100 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander Brasil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $476,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 221,909 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 67,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its stake in Banco Santander Brasil by 58.9% in the first quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 86,883 shares of the bank’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 32,189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BSBR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Banco Santander Brasil from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $6.50 to $6.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. UBS Group lowered shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Banco Santander Brasil from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.10.

Banco Santander Brasil Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of NYSE:BSBR traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $5.33. 577,832 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,930,363. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.65. Banco Santander Brasil has a 12 month low of $4.94 and a 12 month high of $7.32.

Banco Santander Brasil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were issued a dividend of $0.1045 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th.

Banco Santander Brasil Company Profile

Banco Santander (Brasil) SA is a Brazilian financial institution and a subsidiary of Spain-based Banco Santander. Headquartered in São Paulo, the bank serves individuals, small and midsize businesses, corporations, and institutional clients throughout Brazil.

The company provides retail and commercial banking services, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and business lending, credit and debit cards, mortgages, payment solutions, and digital banking. Its broader platform also includes corporate and investment banking, private banking, asset management, insurance, and other financial services.

Santander Brasil’s operations were built in part through the expansion of Banco Santander in Brazil and the acquisition of Banco do Estado de São Paulo (Banespa) in 2000.