Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD)

Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors bought 4,509 put options on the company. This is an increase of 102% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,232 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,120 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 4,260 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Banco Bradesco by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,317 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 5,421 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 17,012 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its position in Banco Bradesco by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 27,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Bradesco by 78.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 20,055 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 8,801 shares in the last quarter.

Banco Bradesco Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE BBD opened at $2.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.56. Banco Bradesco has a fifty-two week low of $1.84 and a fifty-two week high of $2.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The bank reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 8.46%. On average, analysts forecast that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.0398 per share. This is a positive change from Banco Bradesco’s previous monthly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 23.67%. Banco Bradesco’s payout ratio is presently 43.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BBD. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Bradesco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $2.40 to $2.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC raised shares of Banco Bradesco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2.80 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th.

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.