Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 35,979,370 shares, a decrease of 26.0% from the December 31st total of 48,599,488 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,815,688 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 18,815,688 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itau Unibanco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oaktree Capital Management LP raised its stake in Itau Unibanco by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 11,004,494 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,721,000 after acquiring an additional 4,063,482 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 161,847 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 63,920 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 39.6% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 57,624,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $422,962,000 after buying an additional 16,339,845 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Itau Unibanco by 3,590.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,318 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Itau Unibanco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,586,000.

Itau Unibanco Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of ITUB stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 41,981,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,591,796. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. Itau Unibanco has a one year low of $4.73 and a one year high of $9.10.

Itau Unibanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.0032 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. Itau Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITUB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Itau Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Itau Unibanco from $6.80 to $7.77 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.77.

Itau Unibanco Company Profile

Itaú Unibanco SA (NYSE: ITUB) is a Brazilian banking and financial services conglomerate headquartered in São Paulo. The company was formed by the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco in 2008 and is one of the largest private-sector banks in Brazil and among the leading banks in Latin America. Itaú Unibanco is publicly listed in Brazil and maintains an international listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The bank offers a full range of financial products and services across retail, commercial and wholesale banking.