Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.53 and last traded at $25.35, with a volume of 47091 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BSAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Banco Santander-Chile from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.00.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Down 2.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.68. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.21 and its 200 day moving average is $21.95.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $767.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $717.38 billion. Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.15%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander-Chile Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.349 per share. This is a positive change from Banco Santander-Chile's previous annual dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 4.8%. Banco Santander-Chile's payout ratio is presently 43.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSAC. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Banco Santander-Chile in the 1st quarter valued at $25,116,000. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 826,754 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,850,000 after purchasing an additional 257,895 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 247.3% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 274,114 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,170,000 after acquiring an additional 195,189 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,990,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 21.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 6.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.