PagSeguro Digital (NYSE:PAGS) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after UBS Group downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. UBS Group now has a $8.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $13.00. PagSeguro Digital traded as low as $7.48 and last traded at $7.6920, with a volume of 1,049,217 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.92.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on PAGS. Bank of America downgraded shares of PagSeguro Digital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PagSeguro Digital in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $10.40 target price on the stock. Citigroup downgraded PagSeguro Digital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $8.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered PagSeguro Digital from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at PagSeguro Digital

In related news, Director Alexandre Magnani sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.95, for a total transaction of $3,285,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 207,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,270,920.50. This represents a 59.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 550,000 shares of company stock worth $6,034,146.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in PagSeguro Digital by 101.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,986,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,581 shares during the last quarter. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. raised its stake in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 224.2% in the first quarter. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 1,175,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,775,000 after acquiring an additional 812,641 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of PagSeguro Digital in the second quarter valued at $4,407,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 168.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 611,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,123,000 after acquiring an additional 383,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in shares of PagSeguro Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $2,827,000. 45.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PagSeguro Digital Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $9.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.46.

PagSeguro Digital (NYSE:PAGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. PagSeguro Digital had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 16.36%. The company had revenue of $942.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. Analysts anticipate that PagSeguro Digital Ltd. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PagSeguro Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.5%. This is an increase from PagSeguro Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PagSeguro Digital’s payout ratio is currently 78.32%.

PagSeguro Digital Company Profile

PagSeguro Digital Ltd., operating under the PagBank brand, is a Brazilian financial technology company that provides payment and banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, independent professionals, and consumers. The company is part of the Universo Online (UOL) group and serves customers primarily in Brazil.

PagSeguro offers point-of-sale payment terminals and mobile payment solutions that allow merchants to accept credit, debit, contactless, and other electronic payments.