Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) Short Interest Update

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 459,300 shares, an increase of 46.0% from the March 31st total of 314,600 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 306,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco de Chile from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Banco de Chile from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Institutional Trading of Banco de Chile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,903 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Banco de Chile by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,798 shares of the bank's stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Banco de Chile by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 9,084 shares of the bank's stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Banco de Chile by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,416 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco de Chile by 33.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,713 shares of the bank's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banco de Chile Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BCH traded up $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.61. 100,458 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 237,472. Banco de Chile has a 1-year low of $22.06 and a 1-year high of $30.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.31.

Banco de Chile Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $2.1037 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a yield of 5.1%. Banco de Chile's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.90%.

About Banco de Chile

Banco de Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking services to customers in Chile. The company offers checking and debit accounts, debit and credit cards, and lines of credit; mortgage, consume, commercial, general purpose mortgage loans, and finance leases; and factoring services, mutual fund management, stock brokerage, foreign trade, payments and collections, insurance brokerage, including life and general insurance, as well as time deposits, savings instruments, and foreign currency services through branches under the Banco de Chile and Banco Edwards brands.