Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) Stock Short Interest Falls 49.2%

Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,561,186 shares, a decrease of 49.2% from the September 30th total of 8,976,110 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,972,151 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Banco Santander Brasil from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $6.50 to $6.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. HSBC downgraded shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $7.20 to $6.20 in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. UBS Group cut shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Leonardo Mendes Cabral sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.68, for a total transaction of $113,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 112,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,403.28. This represents a 15.09% 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Celso Mateus De Queiroz sold 29,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total value of $169,348.22. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,838 shares in the company, valued at $137,783.64. The trade was a 55.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 233,438 shares of company stock valued at $1,338,299 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Brasil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 period. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 765.6% during 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 period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 58.9% during the first quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 86,883 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 32,189 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Banco Santander Brasil by 9.4% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 81,609 shares of the bank’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander Brasil during the third quarter worth approximately $147,000. Institutional investors own 14.53% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Brasil Stock Performance

BSBR stock traded up $0.10 on Monday, reaching $4.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,827,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,745,650. Banco Santander Brasil has a 52 week low of $4.38 and a 52 week high of $7.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Banco Santander Brasil (NYSE:BSBR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.10). Banco Santander Brasil had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. Analysts anticipate that Banco Santander Brasil will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Brasil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.0804 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This is a decrease from Banco Santander Brasil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1045. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%.

Banco Santander Brasil Company Profile

Banco Santander (Brasil) SA is a Brazilian financial institution and a subsidiary of Spain-based Banco Santander. It provides banking and financial services to individuals, small and midsize businesses, corporate clients and institutional customers throughout Brazil.

The company’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, credit and debit cards, mortgages, payroll lending, insurance, investment products, foreign-exchange services, cash management and payment solutions.