StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Hits New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• StoneCo hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $12.25 (last $11.99) on Friday — down about 15.4% from the prior close on volume of roughly 109,392 shares.
• The company announced a $2.53 special dividend payable May 4 with record/ex-dividend date April 24, a distribution that likely influenced recent trading activity.
• Analysts are mixed but generally positive: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $20.00, even as several firms cut targets or changed ratings.

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $12.25 and last traded at $11.9940, with a volume of 109392 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on STNE. Santander cut StoneCo from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on StoneCo from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded StoneCo from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of StoneCo in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.00.

StoneCo Stock Down 15.4%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.89.

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

StoneCo Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STNE. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of StoneCo by 11,473.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,736 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of StoneCo in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of StoneCo by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,199 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of StoneCo in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of StoneCo in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 73.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About StoneCo

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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