Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 21.27% and a net margin of 27.27%.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of ITUB traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.19. The company had a trading volume of 16,827,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,331,441. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.38. Itau Unibanco has a 1-year low of $6.21 and a 1-year high of $9.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.58.

Itau Unibanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.068 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. Itau Unibanco’s dividend payout ratio is 4.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ITUB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Itau Unibanco from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Vanzo Carlos Orestes sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.24, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,008,014 shares in the company, valued at $8,306,035.36. This represents a 5.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Itau Unibanco

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,959,405 shares of the bank’s stock worth $694,229,000 after buying an additional 5,737,696 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 104.3% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 84,543,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $574,053,000 after acquiring an additional 43,153,787 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 43,540,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $311,749,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153,260 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 42,818,183 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,578,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Itau Unibanco during the 4th quarter valued at $203,319,000.

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.