Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Banco Bradesco shares jumped 4.5%, opening at $4.52 versus a prior close of $4.33, while trading volume reached nearly 19.7 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with two Buy ratings and one Hold rating producing a consensus “Moderate Buy,” despite Weiss Ratings downgrading the stock to Hold and Bradesco Corretora upgrading it to Overweight.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.12 on $6.77 billion in revenue and announced a special dividend of $0.0728 per share; institutional investors including Franklin Resources and Bank of America have substantially increased their holdings.

Banco Bradesco SA (NYSE:BBD - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $4.33, but opened at $4.52. Banco Bradesco shares last traded at $4.4750, with a volume of 19,655,258 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Banco Bradesco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bradesco Corretora upgraded Banco Bradesco from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Bradesco currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Banco Bradesco Stock Up 4.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $47.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50-day moving average is $3.41 and its 200 day moving average is $3.55.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The bank reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter. Banco Bradesco had a net margin of 10.55% and a return on equity of 14.61%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Banco Bradesco SA will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0728 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. Banco Bradesco's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 2,469.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,947,074 shares of the bank's stock worth $159,664,000 after purchasing an additional 46,080,856 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 355.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 28,078,599 shares of the bank's stock worth $102,487,000 after buying an additional 21,920,074 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 82,163,260 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,604,000 after buying an additional 16,908,425 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda boosted its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 221.5% during the first quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 11,051,974 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,340,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in Banco Bradesco during the second quarter valued at $25,339,000.

Banco Bradesco Company Profile

Banco Bradesco SA is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Osasco, São Paulo. Through its banking operations, the company serves individuals, businesses, corporate clients and public-sector entities across Brazil.

Bradesco offers a broad range of products and services, including checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, mortgages, investment and wealth-management products, payment solutions, foreign-exchange services and investment banking. Its operations also include insurance, pension plans and capitalization products through affiliated businesses.

Founded in 1943 in Marília, São Paulo, Bradesco has developed an extensive distribution network of branches, automated banking facilities and digital channels.

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