Investors Purchase Large Volume of Itaú Unibanco Call Options (NYSE:ITUB)

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders bought 10,030 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 633% compared to the average volume of 1,368 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itaú Unibanco

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ITUB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 228,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 57,188 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the 2nd quarter worth about $785,000. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 24,120 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 11,080 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 33.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,941 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in Itaú Unibanco in the third quarter valued at approximately $113,000.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Up 1.5 %

Itaú Unibanco stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.94. The stock had a trading volume of 10,498,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,721,004. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.96. The firm has a market cap of $58.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Itaú Unibanco has a twelve month low of $4.86 and a twelve month high of $7.27.

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

Itaú Unibanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.0029 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is 3.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ITUB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. HSBC upgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res raised Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $6.90.

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.