Suzano (NYSE:SUZ) Downgraded by Bank of America to Neutral

Key Points

• Bank of America downgraded Suzano from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating and set a $11 price target, implying about a 13.93% upside from the stock's current level.
• Suzano recently reported an earnings beat (EPS $0.02 vs. -$0.09 estimate) and shows a low valuation (P/E 5.11) with strong profitability (net margin 26.11%, ROE 30.84%); analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $12.20.
• Several large institutions materially increased positions in the company—most notably Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and State Street—according to the report, while MarketBeat lists institutional ownership at 2.55%.

Suzano (NYSE:SUZ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $11.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.93% from the stock's current price.

SUZ has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Suzano in a report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Suzano in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $13.40 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Suzano from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.20.

Suzano Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of SUZ stock opened at $9.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.11, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.73. Suzano has a 1-year low of $8.41 and a 1-year high of $11.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 2.59. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $10.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.59.

Suzano (NYSE:SUZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.11. Suzano had a net margin of 26.11% and a return on equity of 30.84%. The business had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Suzano will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Suzano

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SUZ. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Suzano by 4,452.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,353,089 shares of the company's stock worth $68,678,000 after buying an additional 7,191,583 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Suzano by 323.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,879,587 shares of the company's stock worth $17,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435,994 shares in the last quarter. Compass Rose Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Suzano during the 3rd quarter worth $9,917,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Suzano by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,474,671 shares of the company's stock worth $41,793,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Suzano by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,667,599 shares of the company's stock worth $54,086,000 after acquiring an additional 843,296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.55% of the company's stock.

Suzano Company Profile

Suzano SA is a Brazil-based pulp and paper company recognized as one of the world's leading producers of eucalyptus pulp. The company develops and supplies a wide range of fiber-based products that serve global demand in printing and writing papers, tissue paper, packaging, and specialty paper markets. With an extensive network of industrial units and logistics operations, Suzano manages every stage of production from forest plantations to final delivery, emphasizing integrated operations and quality control.

At the core of Suzano's business is its sustainable forestry model, which covers more than one million hectares of managed eucalyptus plantations across Brazil.

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