Banco Santander Brasil (NYSE:BSBR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan downgraded Banco Santander Brasil from “overweight” to “neutral” and set a $6.00 price target, implying 17.3% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment has weakened, with Weiss Ratings and Wall Street Zen moving to “hold” and Zacks Research issuing a “strong sell” rating. MarketBeat reports a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $6.00.
• BSBR shares opened at $5.12 after falling 6.7%, while company insiders purchased roughly 500,251 shares worth $2.65 million over the past three months.

Banco Santander Brasil (NYSE:BSBR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $6.00 target price on the bank's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.30% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Banco Santander Brasil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $6.00.

Banco Santander Brasil Trading Down 6.7%

Shares of BSBR opened at $5.12 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Banco Santander Brasil has a 52 week low of $4.62 and a 52 week high of $7.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Banco Santander Brasil news, CEO Mario Roberto Opice Leao purchased 276,851 shares of Banco Santander Brasil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.38 per share, for a total transaction of $1,489,458.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 536,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,887,720.38. This trade represents a 106.52% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eduardo Alvarez Garrido sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.43, for a total transaction of $40,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 24,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,126.43. This trade represents a 23.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 500,251 shares of company stock valued at $2,651,888. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Brasil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd lifted its position in Banco Santander Brasil by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Aquamarine Financial Cayman Ltd now owns 9,770,322 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,697,000 after buying an additional 775,000 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Banco Santander Brasil by 17.0% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,957,288 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,531,000 after acquiring an additional 430,531 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander Brasil in the fourth quarter valued at $9,772,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander Brasil in the fourth quarter valued at $4,735,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 99.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 327,261 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,829,000 after acquiring an additional 163,314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.53% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Brasil Company Profile

Banco Santander Brasil SA is the Brazilian unit of Spain-based Grupo Santander and one of the country's major commercial banks. Headquartered in São Paulo, the bank serves a broad client base across Brazil through an integrated network of branches, ATMs and digital channels. Its shares are represented abroad via American Depositary Shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BSBR.

The bank offers a full range of financial products and services for retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate clients.

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