Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (NYSE:BSBR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (NYSE:BSBR) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,230,000 shares, a growth of 21.0% from the February 13th total of 2,670,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 692,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSBR. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Banco Santander (Brasil) in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Banco Santander (Brasil) during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Banco Santander (Brasil) by 221.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 8,561 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) in the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander (Brasil) during the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. 14.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSBR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $4.20 to $4.70 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Price Performance

BSBR stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.85. 669,123 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 481,170. The company has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.98, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.01. Banco Santander has a 52-week low of $3.75 and a 52-week high of $6.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.066 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.45%. Banco Santander (Brasil)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.69%.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Company Profile

Banco Santander (Brasil) SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, small and medium enterprises, and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Commercial Banking and Global Wholesale Banking segments. It offers local loans, commercial financing options, development bank funds, and cash management services; export and import financing, guarantees, structuring of asset services.