Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.27 and last traded at $24.97, with a volume of 451226 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSAC has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut Banco Santander-Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America lowered shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander-Chile presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.33.

Banco Santander-Chile Price Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $767.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $717.38 billion. Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.15%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander-Chile Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $1.349 per share. This is an increase from Banco Santander-Chile's previous annual dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a yield of 4.8%. Banco Santander-Chile's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.23%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander-Chile

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in Banco Santander-Chile in the first quarter valued at about $25,116,000. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 45.3% during the first quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 826,754 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,850,000 after acquiring an additional 257,895 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake 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 period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 659,627 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,441,000 after acquiring an additional 116,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 365,478 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,893,000 after purchasing an additional 113,325 shares during the period. 6.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.