Short Interest in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Increases By 9.3%

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,910,000 shares, a growth of 9.3% from the August 31st total of 23,710,000 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITUB. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 67.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,375 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 571.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 5,862 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Sunpointe LLC bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITUB traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $6.53. 29,103,989 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,809,258. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.33. Itaú Unibanco has a 1-year low of $5.12 and a 1-year high of $7.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.0031 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is 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.