Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) Short Interest Update

Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,416,949 shares, a decline of 60.3% from the August 15th total of 11,126,167 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,380,062 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mariana Cahen Margulies sold 42,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.70, for a total value of $242,506.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 40,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $229,567.50. This represents a 51.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rudolf Gschliffner sold 11,507 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.73, for a total transaction of $65,935.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,190.16. This represents a 25.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 162,638 shares of company stock worth $930,663 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BSBR. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander Brasil during the fourth quarter valued at $4,735,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 221,909 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 67,224 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Banco Santander Brasil by 765.6% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 139,178 shares of the bank’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 123,100 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 58.9% in the 1st quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 86,883 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 32,189 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.53% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Brasil Stock Performance

Shares of BSBR stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.88. 4,463,623 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,893,117. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.69. Banco Santander Brasil has a 1-year low of $4.94 and a 1-year high of $7.32. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th were given a dividend of $0.1045 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $6.20 price objective (down from $7.20) on shares of Banco Santander Brasil in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Banco Santander Brasil from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $6.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $6.10.

About Banco Santander Brasil

Banco Santander Brasil SA is a Brazilian financial institution and a subsidiary of Spain-based Banco Santander. Headquartered in São Paulo, the company provides banking and financial services to individual customers, small and midsize businesses, corporations and institutional clients throughout Brazil.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial lending, credit and debit cards, mortgages, insurance, investments, asset management, payment solutions and foreign-exchange services.