Perpetual Ltd Decreases Holdings in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp $SBS

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd trimmed its stake in Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo (SABESP) by 23.1% in Q4, selling 396,454 shares and now holding 1,322,796 shares valued at about $31.55 million (≈0.19% of the company).
• Several other institutions increased positions—most notably Jane Street (+349%), HSBC, JPMorgan and Russell Investments—leaving total institutional ownership at about 10.62%.
• Analysts have been bullish (Weiss, Zacks, Jefferies), giving SABESP a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" with an average price target of $36.60, and the company announced a special dividend of $0.4772 per share (ex-dividend March 27, payable May 11), reported as a 55.0% yield.

Perpetual Ltd trimmed its holdings in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS - Free Report) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,322,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 396,454 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd owned 0.19% of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp worth $31,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 349.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 152,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,717,000 after purchasing an additional 118,237 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 9,169 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 18.4% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 50,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 7,755 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 10.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 317,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,979,000 after buying an additional 29,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 10.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded 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 raised Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.60 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $36.60.

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

Shares of NYSE SBS opened at $30.39 on Friday. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp has a 1 year low of $16.52 and a 1 year high of $30.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $28.72 and its 200 day moving average is $26.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.75.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.4772 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 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.

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