StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street’s consensus rating is “Hold” for StoneCo, with six of ten analysts neutral and four recommending a buy. The average 12-month price target is $14.30, above the reported $11.48 opening price.
• StoneCo reported quarterly EPS of $0.47, slightly exceeding the $0.46 consensus estimate, while revenue totaled $129.73 million. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $2.21.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.19% of StoneCo, with several funds increasing their positions; an insider separately sold 21,000 shares at an average price of $9.91.

Shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.30.

A number of analysts have issued reports on STNE shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Bank of America downgraded shares of StoneCo from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of StoneCo from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of StoneCo in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $12.60 price objective on the stock.

StoneCo Stock Performance

Shares of STNE opened at $11.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.63, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.68. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $10.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.05. StoneCo has a 1 year low of $8.95 and a 1 year high of $19.64.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $129.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $708.24 million. StoneCo had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 22.19%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that StoneCo will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at StoneCo

In related news, Director Silvio Morais sold 21,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.91, for a total transaction of $208,110.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 11.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StoneCo

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of StoneCo by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 559.3% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 6,885,009 shares of the company's stock worth $64,306,000 after buying an additional 5,840,741 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of StoneCo in the 3rd quarter worth $4,296,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of StoneCo by 63.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,339 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Finally, Andra AP fonden raised its position in shares of StoneCo by 159.5% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 1,593,600 shares of the company's stock worth $17,275,000 after buying an additional 979,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.19% of the company's stock.

About StoneCo

StoneCo Ltd. is a financial technology company that provides payment processing and business-management solutions primarily to small and medium-sized businesses in Brazil. Through its Stone brand, the company enables merchants to accept payments in physical stores and online, including card, digital-wallet and other electronic transactions.

Its products and services include point-of-sale terminals, payment gateways, transaction processing, digital banking and financial-account services, as well as working-capital and other credit solutions for eligible merchants.

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