Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in PagSeguro Digital by 97.8%, holding only 23,151 shares after the sale of 1,027,500 shares during the first quarter.
• PagSeguro Digital's stock recently rose 3.9%, with a market capitalization of $2.81 billion and a current PE ratio of 6.98.
• The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and it cut its dividend to $0.12 per share, representing a yield of 150%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS - Free Report) by 97.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,151 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,027,500 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in PagSeguro Digital were worth $177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 626.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 19.1% during the first quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 247,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,890,000 after buying an additional 39,697 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 166.9% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 4,180 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PagSeguro Digital during the first quarter valued at about $329,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in PagSeguro Digital by 3,375.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 698,645 shares of the company's stock worth $4,374,000 after purchasing an additional 678,545 shares during the last quarter. 45.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PagSeguro Digital Trading Up 4.5%

NYSE PAGS traded up $0.41 on Wednesday, reaching $9.35. 1,814,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,105,988. PagSeguro Digital Ltd. has a one year low of $6.11 and a one year high of $14.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.57. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $8.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.48.

PagSeguro Digital (NYSE:PAGS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $857.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $914.45 million. PagSeguro Digital had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Sell-side analysts forecast that PagSeguro Digital Ltd. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PagSeguro Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a yield of 150.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 16th. PagSeguro Digital's payout ratio is currently 11.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PAGS shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of PagSeguro Digital from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PagSeguro Digital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $10.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of PagSeguro Digital from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of PagSeguro Digital from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.36.

PagSeguro Digital Company Profile

PagSeguro Digital Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides financial technology solutions and services for consumers, individual entrepreneurs, micro-merchants, and small and medium-sized companies in Brazil and internationally. The company's products and services include PagSeguro Ecosystem, a digital ecosystem that operates as a closed loop where its clients are able to address their primary day to day financial needs, including receiving and spending funds, and managing and growing their businesses; PagBank digital account, which offers payment and banking services through the PagBank mobile app, as well as centralizes various cash-in options, functionalities, services, and cash-out options in a single ecosystem; and PlugPag, a tool for medium-sized and larger merchants that enables them to connect their point of sale (POS) device directly to their enterprise resource planning software or sales automation system through Bluetooth.