Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $25.53 and last traded at $25.35, with a volume of 47091 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Banco Santander-Chile from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered Banco Santander-Chile from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander-Chile presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Banco Santander-Chile Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.68. 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 50-day moving average of $24.13 and a 200-day moving average of $21.89.

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

Banco Santander-Chile Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander-Chile

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 123.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 147,392 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 81,322 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 290,572 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,480,000 after buying an additional 21,983 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 145,280 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,740,000 after buying an additional 42,302 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Banco Santander-Chile in the fourth quarter valued at $369,000. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new position in Banco Santander-Chile during the 4th quarter valued at $245,000. 6.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Santander-Chile Company Profile

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.