Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

by · The Cerbat Gem

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC – Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 789,600 shares, an increase of 49.2% from the May 31st total of 529,100 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 284,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Banco Santander-Chile Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of BSAC stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, hitting $18.83. 305,450 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 231,095. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 1.86. Banco Santander-Chile has a one year low of $16.89 and a one year high of $21.81.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $524.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $544.26 million. Banco Santander-Chile had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 9.58%. Equities analysts forecast that Banco Santander-Chile will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BSAC shares. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Banco Santander-Chile presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.48.

Check Out Our Latest Report on BSAC

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DNB Asset Management AS purchased a new position in Banco Santander-Chile during the 4th quarter valued at $2,669,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,327,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 115.5% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,683 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,957 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in Banco Santander-Chile in the fourth quarter worth about $7,991,000. 6.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Banco Santander-Chile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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