Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,150,000 shares, a growth of 13.7% from the June 30th total of 25,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itaú Unibanco

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 1,451.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 231,732 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 216,791 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 77.7% during the 2nd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 60,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 26,551 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 105.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 14,172 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 7,284 shares during the period. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 2nd quarter worth $83,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 48.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 35,343 shares of the bank’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,519 shares in the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITUB traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $6.11. 15,276,853 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,164,707. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. Itaú Unibanco has a one year low of $5.12 and a one year high of $7.27. The company has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.04 and a 200 day moving average of $6.43.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The bank reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 18.73%. The firm had revenue of $8.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.34 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Itaú Unibanco will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $0.0478 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco’s previous Variable dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.05%.

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.