Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD) Short Interest Up 127.8% in December

Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 84,850,000 shares, a growth of 127.8% from the November 30th total of 37,250,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 33,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Banco Bradesco from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Banco Bradesco Price Performance

BBD stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1.90. The company had a trading volume of 13,009,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,415,352. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.44. Banco Bradesco has a 1-year low of $1.84 and a 1-year high of $3.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.94.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.62 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Banco Bradesco will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Bradesco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.0362 dividend. This represents a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Banco Bradesco's payout ratio is 11.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 152.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 274,790 shares of the bank's stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 166,008 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its position in Banco Bradesco by 217.0% during the third quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 3,608,320 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,598,000 after purchasing an additional 2,470,135 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Banco Bradesco by 2.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,989,586 shares of the bank's stock worth $120,122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,470 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Banco Bradesco during the third quarter valued at about $1,590,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Banco Bradesco during the third quarter worth about $404,000.

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.