Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Short Interest Down 26.0% in January

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 35,979,370 shares, a decrease of 26.0% from the December 31st total of 48,599,488 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,815,688 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 18,815,688 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ITUB. Zacks Research raised Itau Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Itau Unibanco from $6.80 to $7.77 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $7.77.

Itau Unibanco Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of ITUB traded down $0.33 on Friday, reaching $8.60. 41,981,099 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,591,796. Itau Unibanco has a 12 month low of $4.73 and a 12 month high of $9.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.62.

Itau Unibanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.0032 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. Itau Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Itau Unibanco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 3,590.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,318 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Itau Unibanco in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Itau Unibanco by 332.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Itau Unibanco during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Itau Unibanco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000.

Itau Unibanco Company Profile

Itaú Unibanco SA (NYSE: ITUB) is a Brazilian banking and financial services conglomerate headquartered in São Paulo. The company was formed by the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco in 2008 and is one of the largest private-sector banks in Brazil and among the leading banks in Latin America. Itaú Unibanco is publicly listed in Brazil and maintains an international listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The bank offers a full range of financial products and services across retail, commercial and wholesale banking.