XP (NASDAQ:XP) Shares Down 4.9% – Here’s Why

XP Inc. (NASDAQ:XP)’s share price traded down 4.9% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $17.04 and last traded at $17.0450. 2,627,393 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 6,241,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of XP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of XP from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of XP from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.40.

XP Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current ratio of 6.66. The stock has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.83.

XP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 115.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This is an increase from XP’s previous annual dividend of $0.18. XP’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

XP declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 19th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On XP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in XP by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,263,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,746,000 after buying an additional 1,300,982 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in XP by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 457,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,396,000 after buying an additional 104,395 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in XP by 119.2% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 19,900,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,764,000 after buying an additional 10,820,050 shares during the period. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda purchased a new position in XP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,990,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in XP by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 539,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,831,000 after buying an additional 56,090 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.15% of the company’s stock.

About XP

XP Inc provides financial products and services in Brazil. It offers securities brokerage, private pension plans, commercial, and investment banking products, such as loan operations and transactions in the foreign exchange markets and deposits; product structuring and capital markets services for corporate clients and issuers of fixed income products; advisory services for mass-affluent and institutional clients; and wealth management services for high-net-worth customers and institutional clients.