Short Interest in Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Decreases By 24.7%

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 653,500 shares, a decrease of 24.7% from the April 30th total of 868,300 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 427,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSAC. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,415 shares of the bank's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Banco Santander-Chile in the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 126,092 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 37,660 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,089 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 171.7% during the 4th quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 96,355 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 60,889 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 6.42% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:BSAC traded up $0.18 on Thursday, hitting $24.84. The stock had a trading volume of 358,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,614. Banco Santander-Chile has a 1 year low of $18.19 and a 1 year high of $25.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.66. The stock has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79.

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

Banco Santander-Chile Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America cut shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.75.

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.