Short Interest in Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Increases By 47.5%

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Itaú Unibanco Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ITUB stock traded down $0.01 on Monday, reaching $4.97. 3,244,018 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,521,375. The company has a market capitalization of $48.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.95. Itaú Unibanco has a 12-month low of $4.90 and a 12-month high of $7.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $5.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.10.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.0031 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is 3.85%.

Institutional Trading of Itaú Unibanco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $338,016,000 after buying an additional 2,604,304 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,587,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $336,408,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886,508 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 14.8% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 37,928,532 shares of the bank’s stock worth $221,505,000 after acquiring an additional 4,888,099 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 1.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,899,587 shares of the bank’s stock worth $174,930,000 after acquiring an additional 346,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Itaú Unibanco by 2.3% in the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 23,818,027 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $134,606,000 after purchasing an additional 529,600 shares in the last quarter.

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.