Short Interest in Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Drops By 51.8%

Key Points

• Banco De Chile experienced a notable decline in short interest, with a 51.8% drop in July, bringing the total to 253,300 shares, which is just 0.1% of the company's shares.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded Banco De Chile's rating from "hold" to "sell" as of August 9th, indicating less confidence in the stock's performance.
• The bank reported earnings of $0.64 per share for the second quarter, slightly above analysts' expectations, but fell short on revenue estimates at $801.11 million.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 253,300 shares, adropof51.8% from the July 15th total of 525,200 shares. Approximately0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 314,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 314,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Banco De Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Institutional Trading of Banco De Chile

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCH. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Banco De Chile by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 8,145 shares of the bank's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,141 shares of the bank's stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,798 shares of the bank's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Banco De Chile by 161.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Banco De Chile by 823.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,385 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the period. 1.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco De Chile Stock Performance

Shares of BCH traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.96. The company had a trading volume of 83,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,938. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. Banco De Chile has a 52-week low of $22.06 and a 52-week high of $31.84.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Banco De Chile had a return on equity of 23.00% and a net margin of 32.62%.The business had revenue of $801.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $820.11 million. On average, analysts expect that Banco De Chile will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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.