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

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 733,300 shares, a growth of 33.7% from the February 13th total of 548,400 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BSAC. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 274,114 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,170,000 after purchasing an additional 195,189 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 296,922 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,164,000 after acquiring an additional 131,637 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 659,627 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,441,000 after purchasing an additional 116,200 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 365,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,893,000 after purchasing an additional 113,325 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the third quarter valued at $1,724,000. Institutional investors own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BSAC traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.18. The company had a trading volume of 137,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,820. Banco Santander-Chile has a 1-year low of $17.73 and a 1-year high of $23.60. The stock has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.17.

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

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.