Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Raised to Strong-Buy at Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank upgraded Banco Santander Chile to a Strong-Buy, but analyst views remain mixed—one Strong Buy, two Buy, four Hold and one Sell—leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of Hold with a $35.50 target.
• Shares opened at $30.53 (down about 3.2%), with a market capitalization of $14.38 billion, a P/E of 13.16 and a 52‑week range of $22.77 to $37.72.
• In the most recent quarter the bank reported $0.63 EPS and $787.5 million in revenue, with a 21.0% return on equity and a ~25% net margin; analysts forecast $2.86 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Erste Group Bank to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

BSAC has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Banco Santander Chile from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Bank of America raised Banco Santander Chile from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Banco Santander Chile from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Banco Santander Chile from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised Banco Santander Chile from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Banco Santander Chile Trading Down 3.2%

BSAC opened at $30.53 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $14.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $32.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.27. Banco Santander Chile has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $37.72.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $787.51 million for the quarter. Banco Santander Chile had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 24.95%. Analysts forecast that Banco Santander Chile will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander Chile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Banco Santander Chile during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Banco Santander Chile by 739.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,486 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Banco Santander Chile by 199.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Banco Santander Chile by 577.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Banco Santander Chile by 703.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,666 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.42% of the company's stock.

About Banco Santander Chile

Banco Santander Chile NYSE: BSAC is one of the leading financial institutions in Chile and a key component of the global Santander Group. The bank offers a comprehensive range of banking and financial services, including retail and commercial lending, deposit accounts, credit cards, wealth management, insurance products and corporate banking solutions. Headquartered in Santiago, it operates an extensive network of branches, ATMs and digital platforms to serve individual customers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations across the country.

Originally founded as Banco de Santiago in the late 1970s, the institution became part of the Santander Group following the privatization wave in Chile during the late 1980s.

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