Itochu Corp. (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) Short Interest Update

Itochu Corp. (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 479,668 shares, an increase of 80.4% from the May 14th total of 265,913 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,152,758 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITOCY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Nomura upgraded Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ITOCY. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Itochu by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Itochu by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in Itochu during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Itochu during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Finally, Aristotle Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Itochu during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,487,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Itochu Stock Performance

Shares of ITOCY traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $11.81. The stock had a trading volume of 334,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 471,296. The company has a market cap of $93.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Itochu has a fifty-two week low of $9.98 and a fifty-two week high of $15.10.

Itochu (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.18. The firm had revenue of $24.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Itochu will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Itochu Company Profile

Itochu Corporation is a major Japanese trading company (sogo shosha) that operates a diversified global business spanning trading, investment and services. The company traces its roots to the 19th century and has evolved from a textile trading firm into a broad-based commercial and investment group. Its American Depositary Receipts trade over the counter under the symbol ITOCY.

Itochu conducts commodity and product trading across a wide range of sectors including textiles and apparel, machinery, metals and minerals, energy and chemicals, food and consumer products, information and communications technology, and real estate.