Banco Bradesco SA (NYSE:BBD) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest plunged 74.9% to 10,518,511 shares as of March 31 (about 0.1% of shares outstanding), leaving a short-interest ratio of just 0.3 days based on average volume.
• Banco Bradesco announced a new monthly dividend of $0.0037 per share (annualized yield ~1.1%), with an ex-dividend date of May 6 and payment on June 8, up from a prior monthly payout of $0.00.
• The stock traded at $4.04 (up ~1.9%) with a market cap of $42.8B and a P/E of 10.35; the bank reported EPS of $0.11 in the quarter (in line) but revenue of $5.52B missed estimates, and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy."

Banco Bradesco SA (NYSE:BBD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,518,511 shares, a decline of 74.9% from the March 15th total of 41,838,178 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 35,171,212 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Banco Bradesco by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,526,379 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,439,000 after acquiring an additional 957,203 shares during the period. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Banco Bradesco during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,186,000. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 3,900,023 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,182,000 after buying an additional 1,571,561 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Bradesco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,728,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 193.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,212,761 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,479,000 after buying an additional 1,458,889 shares during the last quarter.

Banco Bradesco Trading Up 1.9%

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

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 10.19%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.0037 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. This is a boost from Banco Bradesco's previous monthly dividend of $0.00. Banco Bradesco's dividend payout ratio is 5.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BBD. Weiss Ratings lowered Banco Bradesco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Itau BBA Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Banco Bradesco in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.

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