Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 529,700 shares, a decline of 27.8% from the February 28th total of 733,300 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 266,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Bank of America lowered Banco Santander-Chile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.33.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of BSAC traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $22.79. The stock had a trading volume of 253,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,504. The company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.37. Banco Santander-Chile has a 12 month low of $17.73 and a 12 month high of $24.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.05). Banco Santander-Chile had a return on equity of 19.15% and a net margin of 19.16%. Equities research analysts predict that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander-Chile

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BSAC. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 601.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,810 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,897 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander-Chile during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000. 6.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.