Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Short Interest Up 33.7% in February

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

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE BSAC traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $23.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 335,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,300. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.83. Banco Santander-Chile has a fifty-two week low of $17.73 and a fifty-two week high of $23.54.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander-Chile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 601.6% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,897 shares of the bank’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander-Chile during the third quarter worth $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

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.