Short Interest in Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Declines By 26.7%

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) saw a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 20,778,303 shares, a drop of 26.7% from the February 12th total of 28,334,357 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,159,998 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 24,159,998 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITUB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Itau Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Itau Unibanco from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $9.00.

Institutional Trading of Itau Unibanco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Itau Unibanco by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,895 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Gould Asset Management LLC CA raised its position in Itau Unibanco by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA now owns 40,777 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,135 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 46,666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Itau Unibanco by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,684 shares of the bank’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares during the period.

Itau Unibanco Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE ITUB traded up $0.23 on Monday, hitting $8.21. 21,070,885 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,446,488. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Itau Unibanco has a twelve month low of $4.97 and a twelve month high of $9.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $8.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.56.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 20.64%. Analysts predict that Itau Unibanco will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itau Unibanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd will be paid a $0.068 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 23rd. Itau Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.29%.

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.