Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,170,000 shares, an increase of 47.5% from the November 30th total of 11,640,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.50.

Institutional Trading of Itaú Unibanco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 12,592.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,484,343 shares of the bank’s stock worth $156,171,000 after purchasing an additional 23,299,313 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,685,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 200.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,679,311 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,122,752 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 14.8% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 37,928,532 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $221,505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,888,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 77.5% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 7,114,571 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,549,000 after buying an additional 3,106,130 shares in the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Itaú Unibanco stock traded up $0.01 on Monday, reaching $4.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,088,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,513,336. The company has a market capitalization of $48.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. Itaú Unibanco has a 52 week low of $4.90 and a 52 week high of $7.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.10.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.0031 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.85%.

Itaú Unibanco Company Profile

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.