StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Releases Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $141.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $675.11 million. StoneCo had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 15.38%.

StoneCo Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:STNE traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $9.71. The stock had a trading volume of 6,241,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,549,164. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.14. StoneCo has a 12-month low of $9.45 and a 12-month high of $19.95.

StoneCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th were paid a $2.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on STNE shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of StoneCo from $19.50 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of StoneCo from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Santander lowered shares of StoneCo from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup cut shares of StoneCo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research raised StoneCo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StoneCo

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of StoneCo during the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its holdings in StoneCo by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 13,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 6,281 shares during the period. Amundi acquired a new position in StoneCo during the third quarter worth approximately $198,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in StoneCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $196,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in StoneCo by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 13,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. 73.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

StoneCo Company Profile

StoneCo Ltd., commonly known as Stone, is a Brazilian financial technology company that provides integrated digital payment solutions and related financial services to merchants. Through its cloud-based platform, Stone enables businesses of all sizes to accept a variety of payment methods, including point-of-sale (POS) terminals, mobile card readers and e-commerce gateways. In addition to payment acceptance, the company offers value-added services such as working capital loans, digital banking products and automated billing tools designed to help merchants manage cash flow and streamline operations.

Since its founding in 2012 by André Street and Eduardo Pontes, Stone has focused on serving over half a million merchants across Brazil’s retail, restaurant and services sectors.