Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• 52-week high: Sabesp (NYSE:SBS) hit a new 52-week high of $34.77, last trading at $34.645 on volume of about 279,832 shares.
• Analyst sentiment: Coverage is mixed but overall positive — Weiss upgraded to a higher buy grade and Jefferies initiated with a "Buy" and a $36.60 target, while Zacks cut to "Hold", leaving an average MarketBeat target of $36.60 and an average rating of "Buy".
• Dividend and recent results: The company announced a special dividend of $0.4772 per share (ex-dividend March 27, payable May 11), and recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.71 on $1.03 billion revenue with a 23.64% net margin.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $34.77 and last traded at $34.6450, with a volume of 279832 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.60 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.60.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp Trading Up 3.6%

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $29.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.70. The stock has a market cap of $24.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp had a net margin of 23.64% and a return on equity of 15.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.4772 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This represents a yield of 55.0%. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp's dividend payout ratio is 4.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBS. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 349.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 152,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,717,000 after purchasing an additional 118,237 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 23.5% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,516 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 17.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 60,488 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 9,169 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 18.4% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 50,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 7,755 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 22.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,002,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,021,000 after buying an additional 184,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 10.62% of the company's stock.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp Company Profile

Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo (SABESP) is a Brazilian utility that provides water supply and wastewater collection and treatment services. As the principal sanitation company serving the state of São Paulo, SABESP operates a wide range of infrastructure spanning water capture, treatment plants, distribution networks and sewage systems. The company’s activities support residential, commercial and industrial customers and are focused on delivering potable water, ensuring water quality and expanding access to sanitation services.

SABESP’s service offering includes the operation and maintenance of water treatment and sewage treatment facilities, network expansion and rehabilitation, meter reading and billing, customer service and environmental programs aimed at improving sewage treatment rates and protecting water resources.

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