Short Interest in Banco Bradesco SA (NYSE:BBD) Expands By 245.3%

Banco Bradesco SA (NYSE:BBD) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 41,838,178 shares, a growth of 245.3% from the February 26th total of 12,115,099 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 56,817,058 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Itau BBA Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Banco Bradesco in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Banco Bradesco in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

Shares of BBD opened at $3.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.45. Banco Bradesco has a 1 year low of $1.98 and a 1 year high of $4.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.55.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11. The company had revenue of $6.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Banco Bradesco had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 13.78%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a $0.0037 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is 5.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd grew its stake in Banco Bradesco by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 148,670,798 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $517,056,000 after acquiring an additional 11,137,145 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Banco Bradesco by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 88,405,292 shares of the bank’s stock worth $298,810,000 after buying an additional 306,617 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 82,163,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,604,000 after purchasing an additional 16,908,425 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bradesco during the 2nd quarter valued at $250,398,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Banco Bradesco by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 77,491,815 shares of the bank’s stock worth $258,048,000 after acquiring an additional 756,107 shares during the last quarter.

About Banco Bradesco

Banco Bradesco SA is a major Brazilian financial institution headquartered in Osasco, São Paulo. Founded in 1943 by Amador Aguiar, the bank has grown into one of Brazil’s largest private-sector banks, offering a full range of financial services to retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, corporate and institutional clients. It operates across the banking value chain, including deposit-taking, lending, payments, trade finance and treasury services, and it participates actively in Brazil’s retail and corporate credit markets.

The company’s product and service mix extends beyond traditional banking to include insurance, pension plans, asset management, leasing and credit card services, delivered through a combination of branches, automated teller machines and digital channels.