Short Interest in Itochu Corp. (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) Increases By 3,686.8%

Itochu Corp. (OTCMKTS:ITOCY) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 405,036 shares, a growth of 3,686.8% from the April 15th total of 10,696 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 882,591 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

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 grew its position in shares of Itochu by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in shares of Itochu in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Itochu in the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,000. Finally, Aristotle Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Itochu in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,487,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Itochu Stock Performance

Shares of ITOCY traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $12.65. The stock had a trading volume of 319,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,577. The company has a market cap of $100.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.30 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 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ITOCY. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Itochu to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Nomura upgraded Itochu to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

About Itochu

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.