PagSeguro Digital (NYSE:PAGS) Shares Up 4.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• PagSeguro Digital shares rose 4.7% to about $10.06, although trading volume was roughly 80% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from MarketBeat, with a $10.98 average price target after several recent downgrades.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations ($0.41 versus $0.39) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.28, implying a 11.1% annualized yield.

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 4.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.00 and last traded at $10.0610. Approximately 714,675 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,547,057 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on PagSeguro Digital from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America downgraded PagSeguro Digital from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered PagSeguro Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PagSeguro Digital in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.40 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded PagSeguro Digital from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.98.

PagSeguro Digital Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.29.

PagSeguro Digital (NYSE:PAGS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $942.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1 billion. PagSeguro Digital had a return on equity of 16.36% and a net margin of 10.46%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PagSeguro Digital Ltd. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

PagSeguro Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. This is an increase from PagSeguro Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.1%. PagSeguro Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PagSeguro Digital

In other news, insider Silva Dutra sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.24, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Trading of PagSeguro Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAGS. State Street Corp grew its position in PagSeguro Digital by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,617,616 shares of the company's stock worth $44,514,000 after purchasing an additional 139,227 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in PagSeguro Digital by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,926,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,854,000 after purchasing an additional 12,863 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,365,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,442,000 after buying an additional 564,300 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 6.1% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,668,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,685,000 after buying an additional 153,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,439,324 shares of the company's stock worth $23,515,000 after buying an additional 153,132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.88% of the company's stock.

PagSeguro Digital Company Profile

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. is a Brazil-based financial technology company that specializes in digital payment solutions for merchants and consumers. Through its online platform and a suite of physical point-of-sale devices, the company enables businesses of all sizes to accept credit and debit cards, process e-commerce transactions, and manage payments via QR codes and digital wallets. In addition to payment acceptance, PagSeguro offers prepaid accounts, funds transfers, and working-capital credit lines designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

The company's product portfolio includes portable card readers, countertop terminals, and mobile point-of-sale devices that connect via Bluetooth or cellular networks.

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