Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.60% and a net margin of 16.30%.

Itau Unibanco Trading Down 3.1%

Itau Unibanco stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 39,700,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,423,275. The stock has a market cap of $94.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.62. Itau Unibanco has a one year low of $4.73 and a one year high of $9.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.53 and a 200-day moving average of $7.08.

Itau Unibanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.0032 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Itau Unibanco’s payout ratio is presently 4.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itau Unibanco

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in Itau Unibanco by 104.3% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 84,543,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $574,053,000 after purchasing an additional 43,153,787 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 56.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,189,765 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $104,153,000 after buying an additional 5,101,806 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itau Unibanco in the third quarter valued at about $99,388,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Itau Unibanco by 16.2% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 12,598,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753,068 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 1,667.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,413,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,117,000 after acquiring an additional 11,711,487 shares in the last quarter.

About Itau Unibanco

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.