Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 49.2% in October

Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,561,186 shares, a decline of 49.2% from the September 30th total of 8,976,110 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,972,151 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Banco Santander Brasil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BSBR traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4.42. The company had a trading volume of 3,786,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,169,592. Banco Santander Brasil has a 12-month low of $4.38 and a 12-month high of $7.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34.

Banco Santander Brasil (NYSE:BSBR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. Banco Santander Brasil had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 11.06%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Banco Santander Brasil will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander Brasil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.0804 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This is a decrease from Banco Santander Brasil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1045.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banco Santander Brasil news, insider Gustavo De Sousa Santos sold 29,200 shares of Banco Santander Brasil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.70, for a total value of $166,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 53,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,231.10. This trade represents a 35.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Edmilson Saes sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.79, for a total value of $289,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 300,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,738,175.37. This represents a 14.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 233,438 shares of company stock worth $1,338,299 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander Brasil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in Banco Santander Brasil by 765.6% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 139,178 shares of the bank’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 123,100 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Banco Santander Brasil during the second quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 15.0% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 19,351 shares of the bank’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander Brasil in the third quarter worth approximately $147,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 20.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,429 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,877 shares in the last quarter. 14.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSBR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC lowered Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $7.20 to $6.20 in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Banco Santander Brasil from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $6.50 to $6.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research raised Banco Santander Brasil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, UBS Group cut Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.10.

Banco Santander Brasil Company Profile

Banco Santander (Brasil) SA is a Brazilian financial institution and a subsidiary of Spain-based Banco Santander. It provides banking and financial services to individuals, small and midsize businesses, corporate clients and institutional customers throughout Brazil.

The company’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, credit and debit cards, mortgages, payroll lending, insurance, investment products, foreign-exchange services, cash management and payment solutions.