Short Interest in Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Increases By 22.7%

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 501,644 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the December 15th total of 408,701 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 254,946 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 254,946 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander Chile

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Banco Santander Chile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $345,000. Tuttle Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,113,470 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,507,000 after purchasing an additional 17,119 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander Chile during the third quarter worth $1,240,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 19.6% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 525,577 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,928,000 after purchasing an additional 85,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Banco Santander Chile from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $27.67.

Banco Santander Chile Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:BSAC traded up $1.08 on Monday, hitting $33.34. 457,544 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,242. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.85 and a 200-day moving average of $27.41. The stock has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Banco Santander Chile has a fifty-two week low of $19.04 and a fifty-two week high of $33.49.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 17th. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter. Banco Santander Chile had a return on equity of 22.18% and a net margin of 24.74%.The business had revenue of $740.10 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banco Santander Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Chile Company Profile

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) is one of the leading financial institutions in Chile and a key component of the global Santander Group. The bank offers a comprehensive range of banking and financial services, including retail and commercial lending, deposit accounts, credit cards, wealth management, insurance products and corporate banking solutions. Headquartered in Santiago, it operates an extensive network of branches, ATMs and digital platforms to serve individual customers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations across the country.

Originally founded as Banco de Santiago in the late 1970s, the institution became part of the Santander Group following the privatization wave in Chile during the late 1980s.