StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.43, Zacks reports. StoneCo had a positive return on equity of 20.42% and a negative net margin of 7.28%.The firm had revenue of $669.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.81 million.

StoneCo Price Performance

STNE traded down $2.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.83. 18,615,914 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,926,425. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.69. StoneCo has a 1 year low of $7.72 and a 1 year high of $19.95. The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of -31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StoneCo

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STNE. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo during the 1st quarter worth approximately $70,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in StoneCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $125,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in StoneCo by 77.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 4,223 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in StoneCo by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in StoneCo in the second quarter valued at $295,000. 73.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on STNE shares. UBS Group raised their target price on StoneCo from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of StoneCo from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of StoneCo from $15.50 to $18.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of StoneCo to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of StoneCo from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, StoneCo currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.44.

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.