Itochu Corp. (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) Short Interest Update

Itochu Corp. (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 479,668 shares, a growth of 80.4% from the May 14th total of 265,913 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,152,758 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Daiwa Securities Group raised Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Nomura raised Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its position in shares of Itochu by 898.1% during the first quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 15,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 13,993 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Itochu during the fourth quarter worth about $279,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Itochu by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Itochu by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aristotle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Itochu by 897.0% during the first quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 117,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after buying an additional 105,505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Itochu Trading Down 1.8%

OTCMKTS ITOCY opened at $11.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.32. Itochu has a one year low of $9.98 and a one year high of $15.10. The firm has a market cap of $91.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.62.

Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.18. The business had revenue of $24.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Itochu will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itochu Company Profile

Itochu Corporation is a major Japanese trading company (sogo shosha) that operates a diversified global business spanning trading, investment and services. The company traces its roots to the 19th century and has evolved from a textile trading firm into a broad-based commercial and investment group. Its American Depositary Receipts trade over the counter under the symbol ITOCY.

Itochu conducts commodity and product trading across a wide range of sectors including textiles and apparel, machinery, metals and minerals, energy and chemicals, food and consumer products, information and communications technology, and real estate.