Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp $SBS Position Cut by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Key Points

• Impax Asset Management trimmed its stake in Sabesp by 11.8% in Q4, selling 966,443 shares and finishing the period with 7,236,477 shares worth about $172.6 million, roughly 1.1% of Impax's portfolio.
• Sabesp announced a 5-for-1 stock split effective May 7 and a special dividend of $0.4772 payable May 11 to shareholders of record on March 27 (ex-dividend March 27).
• Analysts hold an average rating of Buy with a consensus target of $36.60; the stock trades near $34.70, with a market cap of about $24.4 billion and a P/E of 15.9.

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its stake in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS - Free Report) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,236,477 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 966,443 shares during the quarter. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp makes up about 1.1% of Impax Asset Management Group plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned about 1.03% of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp worth $172,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 54.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,152,070 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,251,000 after buying an additional 1,116,681 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 444.8% during the third quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,089,290 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522,231 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 0.7% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,113,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,595,000 after purchasing an additional 14,530 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp during the third quarter valued at about $27,444,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,050,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,048,000 after purchasing an additional 121,161 shares in the last quarter. 10.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.60 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.60.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp Price Performance

NYSE:SBS opened at $34.70 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $30.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.05. The firm has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.75. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp has a 52-week low of $18.88 and a 52-week high of $35.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp shares are scheduled to split on the morning of Thursday, May 7th. The 5-1 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, May 6th.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 23.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.4772 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is currently 4.57%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.