Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (NYSE:BSBR) Short Interest Up 21.0% in February

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BSBR. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,931,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,551,000 after acquiring an additional 51,542 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Banco Santander (Brasil) by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,137,946 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,986,000 after purchasing an additional 375,364 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Banco Santander (Brasil) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 750,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 194,984 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Banco Santander (Brasil) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 548,931 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 53,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) by 92.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 256,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 122,924 shares during the period. 14.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Stock Up 2.2 %

BSBR stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.85. The company had a trading volume of 669,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,170. The company has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.