Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Banco De Chile experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 42.9% in August to a total of 305,400 shares shorted.
• Several institutional investors have made substantial increases to their positions in the bank, with one firm, Tower Research Capital LLC, increasing its holdings by 2,425.3%.
• Analysts have downgraded Banco De Chile's stock from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, reflecting growing concerns despite its average price target of $23.00.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 305,400 shares, an increase of 42.9% from the August 15th total of 213,700 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 303,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 303,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco De Chile from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Banco De Chile has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Banco De Chile Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BCH traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.31. 247,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 298,373. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. Banco De Chile has a 1 year low of $22.06 and a 1 year high of $31.84. The stock has a market cap of $14.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.91.

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

Institutional Trading of Banco De Chile

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Banco De Chile by 53.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 216,950 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,747,000 after buying an additional 75,924 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Banco De Chile by 104.6% in the first quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 437,338 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,054,000 after purchasing an additional 223,565 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in Banco De Chile by 289.5% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 86,678 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,296,000 after buying an additional 64,425 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Banco De Chile by 231.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 92,323 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 64,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Banco De Chile by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,260 shares of the bank's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.24% of the company's stock.

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.