Itaú Unibanco Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ITUB)

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 13,135 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 706% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,629 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ITUB shares. HSBC raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised Itaú Unibanco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.90.

Itaú Unibanco Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ITUB opened at $6.30 on Wednesday. Itaú Unibanco has a twelve month low of $4.42 and a twelve month high of $6.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.85. The firm has a market cap of $61.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 19.46%. Analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.058 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Itaú Unibanco’s previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.56%.

Institutional Trading of Itaú Unibanco

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ITUB. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the third quarter valued at approximately $373,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 44,150 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,498,916 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,618,000 after acquiring an additional 648,973 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 874,890 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,818,000 after purchasing an additional 37,954 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,722,000.

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.