Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) Cut to “Neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Banco Bradesco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $2.50 to $3.20 in a research note on Monday, August 19th.

Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBD opened at $2.26 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.52. Banco Bradesco has a fifty-two week low of $2.16 and a fifty-two week high of $3.65. The company has a market capitalization of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. Banco Bradesco had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.62 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Bradesco will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.0033 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is an increase from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is currently 11.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Banco Bradesco by 170.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 87,965,525 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $233,988,000 after acquiring an additional 55,444,555 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Banco Bradesco by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 75,833,254 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $201,716,000 after purchasing an additional 12,228,662 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 15.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,046,779 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,144,000 after purchasing an additional 6,171,193 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Banco Bradesco by 2.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,989,586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $120,122,000 after buying an additional 1,139,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Bradesco in the third quarter valued at approximately $104,542,000.

About Banco Bradesco

Banco Bradesco SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, corporates, and businesses in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It provides current, savings, click, and salary accounts; real estate credit, vehicle financing, payroll loans, mortgage loans, microcredit, leasing, and personal and installment credit; overdraft and agribusiness loans; debit and business cards; financial and security services; consortium products; car, personal accident, dental, travel, and life insurance; investment products; pension products; foreign currency exchange services; capitalization bonds; and internet banking services.