On September 10, 2023, it was reported that the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund has significantly increased its holdings in StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE). According to the company’s Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the fund’s stake in StoneCo grew by a staggering 1,580.4% during the first quarter. It acquired an additional 1,540,900 shares of StoneCo’s stock, bringing its total ownership to 1,638,400 shares. The value of this stake is estimated to be $15,630,000.
StoneCo recently released its quarterly earnings results on August 16th. The company exceeded analysts’ expectations by reporting earnings per share of $0.94 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.08. Furthermore, StoneCo recorded revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, outperforming market expectations of $2.90 billion.
With a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 6.66%, StoneCo demonstrated strong financial performance in this period. Compared to the same quarter last year, its quarterly revenue witnessed a significant increase of 28.2%. In the prior year’s corresponding quarter, StoneCo had earned $0.03 per share.
StoneCo Ltd., headquartered in Brazil, specializes in providing financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners across various channels including in-store, online, and mobile platforms. The company primarily distributes its solutions through proprietary Stone Hubs which offer hyper-localized sales and services.
StoneCo’s success can also be attributed to their dedicated sales team that caters to both brick-and-mortar and digital merchants by offering them innovative technology solutions for their business needs.
Analysts predict that StoneCo will post earnings per share (EPS) of approximately 0.76 for the current fiscal year, a positive outlook that reflects the company’s strong performance.
The substantial increase in holdings by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund indicates growing confidence in StoneCo Ltd.’s future prospects and emphasizes the attractiveness of the company to institutional investors. As StoneCo continues to demonstrate its ability to deliver impressive financial results, it reinforces its position as a prominent player in the financial technology industry.
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Institutional Investors Increase Holdings in StoneCo, Analysts Provide Mixed Recommendations
As of September 10, 2023, there have been notable modifications in the holdings of StoneCo by various institutional investors. For instance, 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in the company’s shares during the fourth quarter, investing approximately $25,000. Similarly, Dark Forest Capital Management LP also acquired a new position in StoneCo during the same period, with an investment worth around $32,000. National Bank of Canada FI saw a 68.8% growth in its shares of StoneCo during the first quarter, adding an additional 1,500 shares to their portfolio and bringing their total stake to 3,680 shares valued at $35,000.
CWM LLC also experienced significant growth in its position within StoneCo during the first quarter. Their stake increased by 133.5%, with an additional purchase of 2,617 shares worth $44,000. Lastly, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC obtained a new stake in StoneCo amounting to approximately $46,000.
It is interesting to note that institutional investors currently own about 77.54% of StoneCo’s stock.
On Friday’s trading day, StoneCo stock opened at $11.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion and boasts a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 23.45 as well as a price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.28. Its beta value stands at a relatively high figure of 2.23.
Over the course of twelve months leading up to this date, StoneCo has witnessed its lowest share price reach $8.09 and its highest soar to $14.83.
Analyzing the financial health indicators for the company reveals that it has a quick ratio and current ratio both measuring at 1.27 while maintaining a debt-to-equity ratio of only 0.18. Additionally, StoneCo has shown a 50-day moving average of $12.73 and a 200-day moving average of $11.86.
Various equities research analysts have provided their insights on StoneCo stock in recent times. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for instance, raised its price target on the stock from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave it a “neutral” rating in its research report released on August 22nd. Citigroup, meanwhile, increased StoneCo’s price target from $17.00 to $18.00 and assigned it a “buy” rating in its research report on August 24th.
TheStreet also revised its rating for StoneCo, upgrading it from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in its research report on May 23rd. UBS Group followed suit by upgrading the stock from “neutral” to “buy” and raising the price target from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report issued on August 3rd.
Finally, HSBC upgraded StoneCo’s rating from “hold” to “buy,” lifting the price objective for the company’s shares from $11.00 to $15.00 in their report released on June 12th.
Currently, Bloomberg data indicates that the average rating given to StoneCo stock is “Hold,” with an average price target of approximately $16.25.
For more detailed information on StoneCo Ltd., please refer to our latest report available on STNE
