Banco Bradesco SA (NYSE:BBD) Short Interest Update

Banco Bradesco SA (NYSE:BBD) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,518,511 shares, a drop of 74.9% from the March 15th total of 41,838,178 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 35,171,212 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

Shares of BBD traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $4.04. 44,423,134 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,721,040. The firm has a market cap of $42.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Banco Bradesco has a 12 month low of $2.13 and a 12 month high of $4.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.59.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 10.19%. Equities analysts forecast that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.0037 dividend. This is an increase from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is presently 5.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBD. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Banco Bradesco by 100.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,353 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Banco Bradesco by 1,276.5% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 10,613 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 9,842 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Banco Bradesco in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Banco Bradesco in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Banco Bradesco by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BBD. Weiss Ratings downgraded Banco Bradesco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Itau BBA Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Banco Bradesco in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Bradesco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Bradesco Company Profile

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.