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

Key Points

• StoneCo shares hit a new 52-week low, falling to as low as $10.66 as investors continued to sell the stock. The company last traded at $10.5250, below its previous close of $10.77.
• Despite the slump, Wall Street sentiment is still fairly constructive: StoneCo has an average “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $20.00. Several analysts recently trimmed targets, though JPMorgan, BTIG, and UBS still maintained positive ratings.
• The company’s latest earnings showed mixed results: EPS of $0.50 beat estimates, but revenue of $675.42 million missed expectations. StoneCo also paid a special dividend of $2.53 per share on May 4.

Shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $10.66 and last traded at $10.5250, with a volume of 261899 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $10.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on STNE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of StoneCo from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of StoneCo in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of StoneCo from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of StoneCo from $19.50 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, StoneCo presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.00.

StoneCo Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $13.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.73.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $675.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $704.26 million. Analysts forecast that StoneCo Ltd. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StoneCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were issued a $2.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StoneCo

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STNE. BRC Global BAH Investments Ltd. purchased a new stake in StoneCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,501,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its stake in StoneCo by 1,054.8% during the 4th quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 5,236,620 shares of the company's stock worth $77,450,000 after buying an additional 4,783,158 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in StoneCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,017,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in StoneCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,247,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in StoneCo by 1,004.5% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,934,964 shares of the company's stock worth $28,618,000 after buying an additional 1,759,782 shares during the period. 73.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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