StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of StoneCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on StoneCo from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on StoneCo from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on StoneCo from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on StoneCo from $13.70 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th.

StoneCo Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STNE opened at $12.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. StoneCo has a fifty-two week low of $8.09 and a fifty-two week high of $14.83. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 2.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.13.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 16th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.08. StoneCo had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. StoneCo’s quarterly revenue was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that StoneCo will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StoneCo

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STNE. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in StoneCo during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in StoneCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in StoneCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in StoneCo by 22.3% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

About StoneCo

StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team.