Short Interest in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Expands By 30.6%

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,710,000 shares, an increase of 30.6% from the August 15th total of 18,150,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Up 0.9 %

ITUB stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $6.73. The stock had a trading volume of 10,927,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,491,623. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The company has a market capitalization of $65.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. Itaú Unibanco has a 1-year low of $5.12 and a 1-year high of $7.27.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The bank reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.01. Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $16.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.0031 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ITUB. UBS Group downgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Itaú Unibanco from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.05.

Institutional Trading of Itaú Unibanco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 52,322,490 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $363,641,000 after buying an additional 15,908,536 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 14.8% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 37,928,532 shares of the bank’s stock worth $221,505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,888,099 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 2.3% in the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 23,818,027 shares of the bank’s stock worth $134,606,000 after purchasing an additional 529,600 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 460.6% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,262,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,766,000 after purchasing an additional 12,539,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth $92,644,000.

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.