PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,630,000 shares, a decline of 19.1% from the February 13th total of 20,560,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

PagSeguro Digital Stock Performance

PAGS opened at $8.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.79. PagSeguro Digital has a twelve month low of $6.11 and a twelve month high of $14.82. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 2.04.

PagSeguro Digital (NYSE:PAGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $875.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $872.66 million. PagSeguro Digital had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PagSeguro Digital will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PAGS. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of PagSeguro Digital from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price target (down previously from $17.00) on shares of PagSeguro Digital in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PagSeguro Digital in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of PagSeguro Digital from $16.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PagSeguro Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAGS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in PagSeguro Digital by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 403,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,478,000 after buying an additional 77,543 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in PagSeguro Digital during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,246,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in PagSeguro Digital during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,013,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in PagSeguro Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $741,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in PagSeguro Digital by 587.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,052,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,059,000 after purchasing an additional 899,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.88% of the company’s stock.

About PagSeguro Digital

PagSeguro Digital Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides financial technology solutions and services for consumers, individual entrepreneurs, micro-merchants, and small and medium-sized companies in Brazil and internationally. The company's products and services include PagSeguro Ecosystem, a digital ecosystem that operates as a closed loop where its clients are able to address their primary day to day financial needs, including receiving and spending funds, and managing and growing their businesses; PagBank digital account, which offers payment and banking services through the PagBank mobile app, as well as centralizes various cash-in options, functionalities, services, and cash-out options in a single ecosystem; and PlugPag, a tool for medium-sized and larger merchants that enables them to connect their point of sale (POS) device directly to their enterprise resource planning software or sales automation system through Bluetooth.