Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Sabesp shares plunged: SBS opened at $5.27 versus a prior close of $6.40 and last traded near $4.79, amid heavy volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautiously positive: Recent firms downgraded the stock to “hold” or reduced its rating, but the overall consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with two Buy ratings and one Hold.
• Quarterly results missed expectations: Sabesp reported earnings of $0.07 per share versus the $0.09 consensus and revenue of $1.16 billion versus the expected $1.23 billion; institutional investors collectively own 10.62% of the company.

Shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $6.40, but opened at $5.27. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp shares last traded at $4.7940, with a volume of 6,601,434 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SBS. Zacks Research cut Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.00.

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

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company's 50 day moving average is $5.47 and its 200 day moving average is $26.23. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.67.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 23.93%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Research analysts forecast that Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,057 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. Balefire LLC boosted its position in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 20,571 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 50,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,537,000 after buying an additional 2,003 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 2,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 2,368 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.62% of the company's stock.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp Company Profile

Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo, known as Sabesp, is a Brazilian water and sanitation company headquartered in São Paulo. Established in 1973, the company provides essential public-utility services, including the production, treatment and distribution of drinking water and the collection and treatment of wastewater.

Sabesp serves municipalities across the state of São Paulo, with a significant presence in the São Paulo metropolitan area and other urban and regional communities.

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