Short Interest in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Expands By 15.2%

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 31,770,000 shares, a growth of 15.2% from the January 15th total of 27,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 27,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group raised Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HSBC raised Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Itaú Unibanco presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $6.90.

Institutional Trading of Itaú Unibanco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ITUB. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 6,290,328 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,200,000 after buying an additional 3,521,518 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Wexford Capital LP lifted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 403,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 80,000 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth about $11,844,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth about $2,843,000.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITUB traded up $0.22 on Monday, hitting $6.10. The company had a trading volume of 23,186,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,317,092. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. Itaú Unibanco has a 52-week low of $4.86 and a 52-week high of $7.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.37 and a 200 day moving average of $5.96. The company has a market cap of $59.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.95.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.76%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.058 dividend. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.79%.

About Itaú Unibanco

Itaú Unibanco Holding SA offers a range of financial products and services to individuals and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Activities with the Market + Corporation. It offers current account; loans; credit and debit cards; investment and commercial banking services; real estate lending services; financing and investment services; economic, financial and brokerage advisory; and leasing and foreign exchange services.