Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.04 Per Share

Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, March 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.0398 per share by the bank on Friday, November 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 21.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a 1,093.7% increase from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00333.

Banco Bradesco has a payout ratio of 9.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Banco Bradesco to earn $0.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 9.3%.

Banco Bradesco Price Performance

BBD traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $2.23. 25,526,451 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,847,804. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.27. Banco Bradesco has a 52-week low of $1.84 and a 52-week high of $2.98. The company has a market capitalization of $23.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.42, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. Banco Bradesco had a net margin of 8.46% and a return on equity of 11.43%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBD has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC upgraded Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2.80 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Bradesco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $2.40 to $2.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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.

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.