Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) Short Interest Down 24.7% in February

Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 154,230,000 shares, a decline of 24.7% from the February 13th total of 204,950,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 44,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Banco Bradesco Trading Up 5.1 %

NYSE BBD opened at $2.15 on Monday. Banco Bradesco has a one year low of $1.84 and a one year high of $2.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 7.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.94.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The bank reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.09. Banco Bradesco had a net margin of 8.46% and a return on equity of 11.43%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.0033 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is 6.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Banco Bradesco during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Traveka Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Banco Bradesco during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in Banco Bradesco by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 17,012 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Banco Bradesco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Banco Bradesco by 78.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 20,055 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 8,801 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BBD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Bradesco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $2.40 to $2.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Banco Bradesco from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2.80 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

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.