Banco Santander Brasil (NYSE:BSBR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Banco Santander Brasil SA (NYSE:BSBR) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday. 4,363,301 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 125% from the previous session’s volume of 1,943,415 shares. The stock last traded at $5.7150 and had previously closed at $5.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on BSBR. Wall Street Zen cut Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $6.20 price objective (down from $7.20) on shares of Banco Santander Brasil in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banco Santander Brasil from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Banco Santander Brasil from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $6.50 to $6.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Banco Santander Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.10.

Banco Santander Brasil Stock Up 3.3%

The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.75 and a 200-day moving average of $5.65.

Banco Santander Brasil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were issued a dividend of $0.1045 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rudolf Gschliffner sold 11,507 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.73, for a total value of $65,935.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 33,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,190.16. This represents a 25.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Cezar Augusto Janikian sold 6,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.72, for a total transaction of $37,752.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 47,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,880.04. The trade was a 12.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 233,438 shares of company stock worth $1,338,299 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Banco Santander Brasil in the 2nd quarter valued at $57,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 765.6% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 139,178 shares of the bank’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 123,100 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander Brasil during the 2nd quarter worth about $476,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 251.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 4,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Banco Santander Brasil by 41.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.53% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Santander Brasil

Banco Santander (Brasil) SA is a Brazilian financial institution and a subsidiary of Spain-based Banco Santander. Headquartered in São Paulo, the bank serves individuals, small and midsize businesses, corporations, and institutional clients throughout Brazil.

The company provides retail and commercial banking services, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and business lending, credit and debit cards, mortgages, payment solutions, and digital banking. Its broader platform also includes corporate and investment banking, private banking, asset management, insurance, and other financial services.

Santander Brasil’s operations were built in part through the expansion of Banco Santander in Brazil and the acquisition of Banco do Estado de São Paulo (Banespa) in 2000.