Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (SBS) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Investment Research

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp (NYSE:SBS) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

According to Zacks, “In the last month, SABESP's American Depository Receipts (ADR) have underperformed the industry. We believe that the company is exposed to risks arising from governmental interference and dependence on electricity as a source of energy. Moreover, the company's higher debt levels, if unchecked, will inflate its financial obligations, posing serious threats to its profitability. Also, in second-quarter 2017, the company's earnings per ADR lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 40% and the year-ago tally by 54.5%. The bottom line suffered from rise in selling and administrative expenses as well as incurrence of exchange loss versus gain recorded in the year-ago quarter. Any unwarranted rise in operating expenses as well as adverse impacts from currency translation will impact its margins.”

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SBS. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. HSBC Holdings plc cut shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. ValuEngine raised shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Citigroup Inc. cut shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp (NYSE:SBS) opened at 9.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.42 and its 200-day moving average is $10.01. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp has a 52 week low of $7.76 and a 52 week high of $11.33.

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Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBS. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp by 0.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 10,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp during the first quarter worth $109,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp by 6.0% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 10,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Koch Industries Inc. purchased a new stake in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp during the first quarter worth $111,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp during the second quarter worth $117,000. 15.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo – Sabesp

Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo-SABESP is a water and sewage service provider. The Company provides water and sewage services to a range of residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers in over 360 municipalities in the state of Sao Paulo, including the city of Sao Paulo.