Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) Short Interest Up 35.8% in January

Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) saw a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 115,210,000 shares, an increase of 35.8% from the December 31st total of 84,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 32,950,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bradesco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 99.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,254 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 5,623 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Bradesco during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Banco Bradesco during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Traveka Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Bradesco in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in Banco Bradesco by 110.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BBD. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Banco Bradesco from $3.20 to $2.30 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. HSBC upgraded shares of Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2.80 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Banco Bradesco from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th.

Banco Bradesco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBD opened at $2.12 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $2.00 and its 200-day moving average is $2.38. Banco Bradesco has a 52 week low of $1.84 and a 52 week high of $3.36. The firm has a market cap of $22.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.62 billion. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 7.43%. Sell-side analysts predict that Banco Bradesco will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.0031 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Banco Bradesco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.54%.

Banco Bradesco Company Profile

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.