Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) Short Interest Up 24.4% in April

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,890,000 shares, an increase of 24.4% from the March 31st total of 20,820,000 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 17,530,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itaú Unibanco

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ITUB. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Itaú Unibanco by 227.8% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 3,567 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 67.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,375 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 20,555.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 7,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Down 3.2 %

ITUB stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.03. The company had a trading volume of 24,740,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,281,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $6.64 and a 200 day moving average of $6.48. Itaú Unibanco has a fifty-two week low of $4.85 and a fifty-two week high of $7.27.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19. Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.003 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Itaú Unibanco’s payout ratio is currently 5.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ITUB shares. Bank of America raised Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. HSBC downgraded Itaú Unibanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th.

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.