Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on XP (NASDAQ:XP)

XP Inc. (NASDAQ:XP) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 23,426 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 377% compared to the average volume of 4,909 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded XP from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on XP from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded XP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.75.

XP Stock Performance

XP stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.12. 2,339,346 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,236,317. The company has a quick ratio of 6.66, a current ratio of 6.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.53. XP has a one year low of $14.80 and a one year high of $23.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.11.

XP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from XP’s previous annual dividend of $0.18. This represents a yield of 268.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. XP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.10%.

XP announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 19th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On XP

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XP. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in XP by 65.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in XP during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in XP by 1,783.3% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 2,675 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in XP during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in XP by 117.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. 59.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About XP

XP Inc provides financial products and services in Brazil. It offers securities brokerage, private pension plans, commercial, and investment banking products, such as loan operations and transactions in the foreign exchange markets and deposits; product structuring and capital markets services for corporate clients and issuers of fixed income products; advisory services for mass-affluent and institutional clients; and wealth management services for high-net-worth customers and institutional clients.