Short Interest in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Increases By 13.7%

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,150,000 shares, a growth of 13.7% from the June 30th total of 25,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itaú Unibanco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ITUB. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 341,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 22,726 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,654 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 26,652 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 5,401 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 140,287 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 6,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 46,716 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 7,818 shares in the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITUB traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.03. 15,529,832 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,135,963. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. Itaú Unibanco has a one year low of $5.12 and a one year high of $7.27.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The bank reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $8.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.34 billion. Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 18.73% and a net margin of 11.09%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Itaú Unibanco will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $0.0478 dividend. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco’s previous Variable dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Morgan Stanley upgraded Itaú Unibanco from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th.

About Itaú Unibanco

Itaú Unibanco Holding SA offers a range of financial products and services to individuals and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Activities with the Market + Corporation. It offers current account; loans; credit and debit cards; investment and commercial banking services; real estate lending services; financing and investment services; economic, financial and brokerage advisory; and leasing and foreign exchange services.