Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Short Interest Down 27.8% in March

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 529,700 shares, a drop of 27.8% from the February 28th total of 733,300 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 266,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:BSAC traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.17. The company had a trading volume of 279,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,602. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. Banco Santander-Chile has a 12-month low of $17.73 and a 12-month high of $23.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.83.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.05). Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.15%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America lowered shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile during the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 79.6% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 296,922 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,164,000 after purchasing an additional 131,637 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Banco Santander-Chile in the third quarter valued at approximately $902,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 25.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 293,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,084,000 after purchasing an additional 59,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander-Chile during the third quarter worth approximately $527,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

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.