Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Raises Dividend to $1.35 Per Share

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) declared an annual dividend on Monday, April 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of 1.349 per share by the bank on Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This is a 7.8% increase from Banco Santander-Chile’s previous annual dividend of $1.25.

Banco Santander-Chile has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 5.9% annually over the last three years. Banco Santander-Chile has a payout ratio of 59.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Banco Santander-Chile to earn $2.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.35 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.2%.

Banco Santander-Chile Trading Down 3.4 %

NYSE:BSAC traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $20.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 669,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,343. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.46. Banco Santander-Chile has a 1 year low of $17.73 and a 1 year high of $23.80.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The bank reported $0.61 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%. Research analysts expect that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Bank of America downgraded shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.33.

About Banco Santander-Chile

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.