StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give StoneCo an average rating of "Moderate Buy" across nine brokerages (five buys, four holds) with an average 12‑month price target of $20, and several firms recently revised targets (JPMorgan $20, BTIG $22, UBS $19).
• StoneCo announced a special dividend of $2.53 per share payable on May 4, with the ex‑dividend and record date on April 24.
• In the latest quarter StoneCo reported EPS $0.50 (above the $0.48 estimate) while revenue of $675.4M missed expectations, and the stock trades at a PE of 7.25 with a market cap of about $2.76B.

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.00.

STNE has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of StoneCo from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of StoneCo from $19.50 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Santander cut shares of StoneCo from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of StoneCo from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd.

StoneCo Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of STNE opened at $11.09 on Friday. StoneCo has a 12 month low of $10.80 and a 12 month high of $19.95. The firm's 50 day moving average is $14.33 and its 200-day moving average is $15.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. StoneCo had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 21.55%. The company had revenue of $675.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $704.26 million. Equities research analysts forecast that StoneCo will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

StoneCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th will be paid a $2.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its stake in StoneCo by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 2,499,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,464 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new position in StoneCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,546,000. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in StoneCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,631,000. Jain Global LLC increased its stake in StoneCo by 381.1% in the third quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 769,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,553,000 after acquiring an additional 609,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truxt Investmentos Ltda. bought a new position in StoneCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $12,116,000. 73.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

StoneCo Company Profile

StoneCo Ltd., commonly known as Stone, is a Brazilian financial technology company that provides integrated digital payment solutions and related financial services to merchants. Through its cloud-based platform, Stone enables businesses of all sizes to accept a variety of payment methods, including point-of-sale (POS) terminals, mobile card readers and e-commerce gateways. In addition to payment acceptance, the company offers value-added services such as working capital loans, digital banking products and automated billing tools designed to help merchants manage cash flow and streamline operations.

Since its founding in 2012 by André Street and Eduardo Pontes, Stone has focused on serving over half a million merchants across Brazil's retail, restaurant and services sectors.

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