Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) Short Interest Update

Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 160,250,000 shares, a growth of 38.3% from the January 15th total of 115,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 40,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Banco Bradesco by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 100,202,214 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,386,000 after purchasing an additional 12,236,689 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 215.1% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 82,839,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $158,224,000 after acquiring an additional 56,552,808 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 75,833,254 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $201,716,000 after acquiring an additional 12,228,662 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 56,809,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,507,000 after acquiring an additional 9,762,964 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 50,826,745 shares of the bank’s stock worth $97,079,000 after purchasing an additional 10,537,751 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC raised Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2.80 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Banco Bradesco from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Bradesco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $2.40 to $2.00 in a research note on Wednesday.

Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

NYSE:BBD traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2.17. 34,866,896 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,203,180. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $2.00 and a 200 day moving average of $2.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Banco Bradesco has a 1-year low of $1.84 and a 1-year high of $2.98.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The bank reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.09. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 7.43%. Research analysts anticipate that Banco Bradesco will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.0033 dividend. This is a boost from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Banco Bradesco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.54%.

About Banco Bradesco

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.