Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) Cut to “Neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Bradesco Corretora cut shares of Banco Bradesco from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Itau BBA Securities lowered Banco Bradesco from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $4.20 target price on shares of Banco Bradesco in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Bradesco to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Banco Bradesco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.05.

Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

NYSE:BBD opened at $2.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.65. Banco Bradesco has a twelve month low of $2.54 and a twelve month high of $4.58. The company has a market capitalization of $17.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.46.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Banco Bradesco will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 5th will be paid a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.0037. Banco Bradesco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 16.3% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 82,243,666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $289,498,000 after purchasing an additional 11,525,758 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 355.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 28,078,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $102,487,000 after purchasing an additional 21,920,074 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 20.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 24,583,083 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,728,000 after purchasing an additional 4,099,099 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 3.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 19,296,977 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,434,000 after purchasing an additional 641,744 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 103.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 12,315,995 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,953,000 after purchasing an additional 6,276,800 shares during the period.

About Banco Bradesco

Banco Bradesco SA is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Osasco, São Paulo. Founded in 1943, the bank serves individuals, businesses and institutional clients through a broad network of branches, digital channels and automated banking services.

Bradesco offers traditional banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, personal and commercial loans, credit and debit cards, payment solutions, foreign exchange and investment products. Through its related businesses, the company also provides insurance, pension and capitalization products, asset management, brokerage and other financial services.

The company primarily serves customers in Brazil and maintains international activities to support corporate and institutional clients, including services related to international banking and trade.