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

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 789,600 shares, a growth of 49.2% from the May 31st total of 529,100 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 284,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BSAC traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $18.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,519. Banco Santander-Chile has a 12-month low of $16.89 and a 12-month high of $21.81. The stock has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.21, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.90 and its 200 day moving average is $19.13.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.04). Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 10.06%. The business had revenue of $524.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $544.26 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Banco Santander-Chile will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSAC. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 115.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,683 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,569 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $181,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 88.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,788 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BSAC. 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. StockNews.com cut Banco Santander-Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander-Chile has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.48.

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.