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 growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,710,000 shares, a growth of 30.6% from the August 15th total of 18,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITUB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group downgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.05.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Itaú Unibanco stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $6.73. 10,927,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,491,623. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.35. Itaú Unibanco has a twelve month low of $5.12 and a twelve month high of $7.27. The firm has a market cap of $65.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The bank reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $16.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.72 billion. Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 11.39%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Itaú Unibanco will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITUB. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Itaú Unibanco by 0.9% in the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 183,245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 67.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,375 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 0.5% during the first quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 873,603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,054,000 after buying an additional 4,102 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 0.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 1,205,760 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,356,000 after buying an additional 4,273 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 571.3% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 5,862 shares in the last quarter.

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.