Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Banco Santander Chile has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from eight firms, with a consensus 1-year target price of $36.00.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: some firms upgraded the stock, including Itau BBA Securities and Erste Group, while others, such as Wall Street Zen, downgraded it.
• The bank reported solid quarterly results, posting $0.88 EPS with 24.95% net margin and 21.00% return on equity, while the stock recently traded at $33.75 versus a 52-week range of $22.77 to $37.72.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.00.

Several research firms have commented on BSAC. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Banco Santander Chile from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Bank of America upgraded Banco Santander Chile from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco Santander Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Banco Santander Chile to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th.

Banco Santander Chile Stock Performance

NYSE BSAC opened at $33.75 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.03. The firm has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Banco Santander Chile has a 1 year low of $22.77 and a 1 year high of $37.72.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 10th. The bank reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter. Banco Santander Chile had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The business had revenue of $847.27 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Banco Santander Chile will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Chile

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BSAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Banco Santander Chile by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,113,470 shares of the bank's stock valued at $82,507,000 after buying an additional 17,119 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,599,117 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,749,000 after purchasing an additional 5,660 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,561,544 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,603,000 after purchasing an additional 488,676 shares during the period. INCA Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander Chile by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. INCA Investments LLC now owns 1,263,892 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,214,000 after purchasing an additional 199,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Banco Santander Chile by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 643,160 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,461,000 after purchasing an additional 57,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.42% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Chile Company Profile

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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