Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $22.93 and last traded at $22.83, with a volume of 156420 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Banco Santander-Chile Price Performance

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 business’s fifty day moving average is $20.79 and its 200 day moving average is $20.12. The company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.83.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.05). Banco Santander-Chile had a return on equity of 19.15% and a net margin of 19.16%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 274,114 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,170,000 after purchasing an additional 195,189 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 296,922 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,164,000 after buying an additional 131,637 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 659,627 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,441,000 after buying an additional 116,200 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 365,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,893,000 after acquiring an additional 113,325 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile during the third quarter worth $1,724,000. 6.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.