Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Short Interest Update

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 713,700 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the July 31st total of 652,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 278,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Banco Santander-Chile from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Banco Santander-Chile to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Banco Santander-Chile currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.48.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of BSAC traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.36. 19,466 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 285,876. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. Banco Santander-Chile has a 1-year low of $16.89 and a 1-year high of $21.19. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.47.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.01). Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $599.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.44 million. Research analysts expect that Banco Santander-Chile will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSAC. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 8.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 327,191 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,488,000 after acquiring an additional 25,237 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 166,763 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 43,949 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 115.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,683 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,957 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 796,552 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,999,000 after buying an additional 300,257 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander-Chile Company Profile

Banco Santander-Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking services in Chile. It operates through Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate Investment Banking, and Corporate Activities segments. The company offers debit and credit cards, checking accounts, and savings products; consumer, automobile, commercial, mortgage, and government-guaranteed loans; and Chilean peso and foreign currency-denominated loans to finance various commercial transactions, trade, foreign currency forward contracts, and credit lines, as well as mortgage financing services.