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

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 65,200,000 shares, a growth of 86.7% from the February 28th total of 34,930,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 28,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITUB has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.18 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ITUB traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.52. The company had a trading volume of 13,791,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,588,458. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. Itaú Unibanco has a twelve month low of $4.42 and a twelve month high of $6.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $5.29 and its 200-day moving average is $5.31.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.0527 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itaú Unibanco

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ITUB. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 296.8% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 224,741 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,115,000 after buying an additional 168,100 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at about $103,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 61,367 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 7,556 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 6,290,328 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,521,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000.

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.