Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $6.32 and last traded at $6.32, with a volume of 36030387 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Itaú Unibanco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Itaú Unibanco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Itaú Unibanco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.18 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itaú Unibanco presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.27.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $68.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.25.

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). Itaú Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 12.25%. On average, equities analysts expect that Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Itaú Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.0527 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Itaú Unibanco's previous dividend of $0.00. Itaú Unibanco's payout ratio is 2.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itaú Unibanco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ITUB. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 28,389,460 shares of the bank's stock worth $140,812,000 after purchasing an additional 489,873 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,829,515 shares of the bank's stock valued at $338,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,604,304 shares during the period. Haven Global Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Itaú Unibanco in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,284,000. Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 5,310.8% during the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 783,968 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,888,000 after buying an additional 769,479 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 39,658,215 shares of the bank's stock worth $196,705,000 after buying an additional 1,286,014 shares during the last quarter.

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.

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