Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Itochu Corp. (OTCMKTS:ITOCY)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $12.41, but opened at $13.17. Itochu shares last traded at $12.5825, with a volume of 6,625 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITOCY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Nomura raised Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Itochu to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Itochu in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Itochu Trading Up 1.8%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.94 and a 200 day moving average of $58.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $100.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.70.

Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Itochu Corp. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in Itochu by 898.1% in the first quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 15,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 13,993 shares during the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Itochu in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,487,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in Itochu by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Itochu by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Itochu during the fourth quarter worth $279,000. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Itochu

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.