Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $41.48 and last traded at $41.2390, with a volume of 165848 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BCH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco De Chile in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research cut Banco De Chile from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Banco De Chile from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $36.00.

Banco De Chile Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.23 and its 200 day moving average is $33.14.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.02). Banco De Chile had a net margin of 32.87% and a return on equity of 23.25%. The company had revenue of $764.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $831.97 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banco De Chile will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco De Chile

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Banco De Chile by 53.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 216,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,747,000 after buying an additional 75,924 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco De Chile by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 1,355.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco De Chile in the 2nd quarter valued at $223,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Banco De Chile by 11.2% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 35,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552 shares in the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco De Chile Company Profile

Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) is a leading Chilean financial institution headquartered in Santiago. Founded in 1893, the bank is one of the country’s oldest and most established banking groups, serving a broad spectrum of individual, corporate and institutional clients. It is publicly listed and operates under Chilean banking regulations while participating in international capital markets.

The bank’s core businesses include retail banking, commercial and corporate banking, and investment banking.