Itochu Corp. (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) Short Interest Update

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itochu

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ITOCY. Aristotle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Itochu by 897.0% during the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 117,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after buying an additional 105,505 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in shares of Itochu by 898.1% during the 1st quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 15,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 13,993 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Itochu during the 4th quarter valued at about $279,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Itochu by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Itochu by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itochu Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Itochu stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.81. The stock had a trading volume of 334,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 471,296. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Itochu has a 1 year low of $9.98 and a 1 year high of $15.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.98.

Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.18. The company had revenue of $24.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Itochu will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa Securities Group raised Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Nomura upgraded Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.