Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Short Interest Update

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 20,778,303 shares, a decrease of 26.7% from the February 12th total of 28,334,357 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 24,159,998 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 24,159,998 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Itau Unibanco Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:ITUB traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,420,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,865,546. The firm has a market cap of $88.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.56. Itau Unibanco has a 1 year low of $4.97 and a 1 year high of $9.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.03). Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 20.64%.The business had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. Research analysts forecast that Itau Unibanco will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Itau Unibanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.068 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 23rd. Itau Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itau Unibanco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ITUB. Oaktree Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 58.5% in the second quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 11,004,494 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,721,000 after purchasing an additional 4,063,482 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 161,847 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 63,920 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,868,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,411,000 after buying an additional 1,079,178 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 57,624,188 shares of the bank’s stock worth $422,962,000 after buying an additional 16,339,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Itau Unibanco by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 6,162,981 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,236,000 after buying an additional 311,472 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ITUB shares. Zacks Research upgraded Itau Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Itau Unibanco from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $9.00.

Itau Unibanco Company Profile

Itaú Unibanco SA (NYSE: ITUB) is a Brazilian banking and financial services conglomerate headquartered in São Paulo. The company was formed by the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco in 2008 and is one of the largest private-sector banks in Brazil and among the leading banks in Latin America. Itaú Unibanco is publicly listed in Brazil and maintains an international listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The bank offers a full range of financial products and services across retail, commercial and wholesale banking.