Itau Unibanco Holding SA Given BBB+ Credit Rating by Morningstar (ITUB)

Itau Unibanco Holding SA logoItau Unibanco Holding SA (NASDAQ:ITUB) has been given a “BBB+” credit rating by Morningstar. The investment research firm’s “BBB+” rating suggests that the company is a moderate default risk. They also gave their stock a three star rating. Separately, analysts at Zacks reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Itau Unibanco Holding SA in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. They now have a $17.50 price target on the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding SA (NASDAQ:ITUB) opened at 15.06 on Friday. Itau Unibanco Holding SA has a 52-week low of $10.8546 and a 52-week high of $18.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.41 and its 200-day moving average is $15.19. The company has a market cap of $82.467 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10. Itau Unibanco Holding SA also was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 7,065 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 218% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,223 call options. Itau Unibanco Holding SA (NASDAQ:ITUB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.04. Analysts expect that Itau Unibanco Holding SA will post $1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which is scheduled for Monday, January 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.0059 per share. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Itau Unibanco Holding SA is a Brazil-based holding active in the banking sector. The Company divides its activities into four segments: Commercial Banking, which offers retail banking and legal entities customers services, among others; Itau BBA, which offers products and wholesale services for companies as well as investment banking activities; Consumer Credit, which provides financial products and services such as checking accounts, auto loans and credit card transactions, among others; Market and Corporation Activity, which provides excess cash management, subordinated debt surplus administration and leads observations on certain treasury activities, among others. To view more credit ratings from Morningstar, visit www.jdoqocy.comclick-7674909-10651170. Receive News & Ratings for Itau Unibanco Holding SA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Itau Unibanco Holding SA and related companies with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter.

3 Tips for Using Credit Wisely During the Holidays

Associated Press Using credit to tackle your holiday shopping can be tempting. And offers of a discount for opening a new account, or interest-free purchases for a year or more make it more enticing. But relying on credit without a plan to pay off the debt quickly can easily cost you more in the long run. Carrying higher balances for several months could lower your credit score, making it more expensive to refinance your home, buy a car or qualify for other loans. "No amount of rewards are going to be worth using a credit card and carrying a balance from one month to the next," said Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com, which tracks credit card offers. "There's no credit card that pays you 12 percent or 15 percent or 18 percent back in rewards." Even so, many shoppers will reach for a credit card this holiday season. A recent survey by the National Retail Federation found that about 38 percent of consumers planned to rely on credit to buy their holiday gifts. That's up from 28.5 percent last year and the biggest share in the survey's history. Here are three tips that can help you avoid ending up with a debt hangover this holiday season: 1. READ THE FINE PRINT This time of year, credit issuers and retailers roll out cards with special discounts and interest rate grace periods in a bid to woo borrowers. If you can't resist applying, be sure to read the fine print that spells out the limits on these perks, as well as circumstances that could trigger higher charges or annual fees. Take Macy's and Kohl's. Customers who are approved for a card from either of the department store chains receive a variety of discounts. With Macy's card, new cardholders receive 20 percent off, but the savings max out at $100. Consumers who open a Kohl's credit card account receive 15 percent off on their next purchase and a 20 percent discount when they receive the card. In addition, the card entitles borrowers to at least 12 annual discounts ranging from 15 percent to 30 percent on select merchandise. Macy's lists an annual percentage rate of 24.5 percent for purchases on its card. Kohl's advertises a rate of 23.99 percent. That means those discounts may not be so wallet-friendly should you carry a balance beyond a month or two. Then there are the cards that offer 0 percent interest on purchases for a year or more. They can save you money over time. But often just being late on a single payment is enough to end the interest rate grace period, wiping out your initial savings. "Often, if the balance is not completely paid off prior to the expiration date of the time period, a high interest rate is charged going back to day one," said Ray Benton, a certified financial planner based in Denver. If you're considering using a card offering zero interest on purchases for a period of time, try this: Take how much you would charge on the card and divide it into monthly payments within the interest-free period. This can help you determine whether you can comfortably afford to pay the balance off before the regular interest rate kicks in. If that payment schedule is too much of a financial squeeze, it's likely you'll end up paying interest charges. 2. CASH IN REWARDS If you've been accruing rewards points on one of your credit cards, you may have already earned enough to buy gifts this holiday season. Some cards offer cash back, credits against your balance or even special deals to buy gift items from a points redemption store. Major card issuers such as American Express, Chase, Citi and Discover offer some type of points reward program. 3. HAVE A REPAYMENT STRATEGY Establish a budget for how much of your holiday shopping you can put on your credit cards and still afford to pay off any balance within a realistic, but expedient, period of time. That should also help limit your spending and provide a roadmap for paying off your card balances. Hardekopf also says if you are going to carry a balance, contact your issuer and ask for a lower rate. There is no guarantee that it will be lowered, but it never hurts to ask. And there's no reason to wait until your payment is due. Making small payments twice a month or more can help blunt interest charges. That's because most card issuers charge based on your average daily balance. "You can save quite a bit of money by making micro payments," said Hardekopf.

Which Credit Score Should I Pay Attention to?

There is no one credit score. There are many. The one that matters the most is the credit score that a lender looks at when considering your loan or credit card application. So how do you make sense of all of the credit scores out there? Most lenders use FICO scores or VantageScores when evaluating consumer credit applications. And among those, there are hundreds of custom scores for specific uses. All are based on payment history, debt usage, age of credit accounts, credit mix and credit inquiries — the basics of great credit. And all are designed to predict how likely consumers are to repay a loan. The three major credit reporting agencies have all developed scores as well, and sometimes they develop custom scores for particular clients. Each has its own method to predict which consumers are most — or least — likely to pay loans or credit cards as agreed. The credit bureaus also make some scores available to consumers. These are often given to consumers for free, and they can be good tools for learning about credit and monitoring your credit. Another thing to keep in mind when comparing your credit scores is that they may have different ranges. In other words, the highest score in one model may be 990, while in another it may be 850. That means a similar number using different models may mean something quite different. Though that sounds overwhelming, keep in mind that the basics of all credit scores are the same and are based on key components found in your credit reports — you can get free copies of your credit reports once a year under federal law. Because lenders won't likely tell you the credit score they are using, it's important to pay attention to the basics of good credit. If you are doing that, you should have a good score no matter which score the lender uses. Another advantage of monitoring your credit is that if there's a large, unexplained drop in your score, you will know it right away. That could be a sign of identity theft or fraud, and the sooner you address either problem, the easier it will be to untangle. You can check back each month for a new score and to monitor your progress as you build a positive credit record and credit score by paying your credit and loan accounts as agreed, keeping balances lows, not taking on too much debt. So don't be shocked if a free credit score that you receive on a credit card statement is different from the one you saw when you applied for a car loan last month. You can also get two free credit scores on Credit.com, updated monthly, along with details on how your credit stacks up based on the five credit basics. All credit scores are based on information found in your credit reports. And that's why it's important to monitor your credit reports regularly and dispute any mistakes. If there are accounts you don't recognize, be sure to investigate. Your credit file could have been mixed with another consumer's or, worse, a thief may be opening credit accounts in your name. Correcting errors on credit reports is especially important if you know you will soon be applying to finance a home or car, because your credit profile helps lenders decide which interest rate you qualify for — and having a good credit score can save you money. (You can see just how much you'll spend on debt over a lifetime with this interactive tool.) More from Credit.com Why Do I Have So Many Credit Scores? What's a Bad Credit Score? What's the Easiest Way to Improve Your Credit Score? Credit Score Reports Credit credit score credit reports