Traders Buy High Volume of Itau Unibanco Call Options (NYSE:ITUB)

Key Points

• Itau Unibanco experienced an unusual spike in options trading, with a 135% increase in call options compared to the average daily volume.
• UBS Group maintained a "neutral" rating, while the consensus rating among analysts is a "Buy" with an average price target of $6.27.
• The bank announced a new monthly dividend of $0.0454, showcasing a significant increase from the previous dividend of $0.00, translating to an annual yield of 7.7%.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 2,264 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately135% compared to the average volume of 962 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 29.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,562 shares of the bank's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 5,743 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new position in shares of Itau Unibanco in the 1st quarter worth $17,826,000. INCA Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Itau Unibanco by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. INCA Investments LLC now owns 1,247,501 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,861,000 after buying an additional 113,409 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Itau Unibanco by 222.8% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 155,795 shares of the bank's stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 107,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Itau Unibanco by 6.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,592,740 shares of the bank's stock worth $135,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,549,003 shares in the last quarter.

Itau Unibanco Stock Performance

ITUB traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.10. The stock had a trading volume of 22,684,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,873,542. Itau Unibanco has a 1 year low of $4.42 and a 1 year high of $7.23. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $6.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.20. The stock has a market cap of $76.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The bank reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.75 billion. Itau Unibanco had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 14.05%. Equities analysts anticipate that Itau Unibanco will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Itau Unibanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.0454 per share. This is a boost from Itau Unibanco's previous monthly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.7%. Itau Unibanco's payout ratio is currently 4.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Itau Unibanco in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Itau Unibanco currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $6.27.

Itau Unibanco Company Profile

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.