Short Interest in Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (NYSE:BSBR) Expands By 21.0%

Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (NYSE:BSBR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,230,000 shares, an increase of 21.0% from the February 13th total of 2,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 692,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Price Performance

Shares of BSBR opened at $4.85 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $4.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.65. The company has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Banco Santander has a fifty-two week low of $3.75 and a fifty-two week high of $6.01.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.066 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Banco Santander (Brasil)’s payout ratio is currently 24.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Banco Santander (Brasil) from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $4.20 to $4.70 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Banco Santander (Brasil) from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America downgraded Banco Santander (Brasil) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Banco Santander (Brasil) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander (Brasil)

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) by 221.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 8,561 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) during the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) during the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. 14.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Company Profile

Banco Santander (Brasil) SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, small and medium enterprises, and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Commercial Banking and Global Wholesale Banking segments. It offers local loans, commercial financing options, development bank funds, and cash management services; export and import financing, guarantees, structuring of asset services.