StockNews.com Upgrades Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) to "Hold"

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Separately, HSBC cut Banco Santander-Chile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.97.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Performance

BSAC stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.68. The company had a trading volume of 295,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,790. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.91. Banco Santander-Chile has a fifty-two week low of $16.89 and a fifty-two week high of $21.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.82.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The bank reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Banco Santander-Chile had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 9.99%. The company had revenue of $621.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $609.98 million. Analysts anticipate that Banco Santander-Chile will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DNB Asset Management AS bought a new stake in Banco Santander-Chile during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,669,000. Barclays PLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the third quarter valued at $658,000. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 48.7% in the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 495,671 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,091,000 after buying an additional 162,396 shares in the last quarter. NS Partners Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 8.0% in the third quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 487,236 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,936,000 after buying an additional 35,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 9.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,131 shares of the bank's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 6.42% of the company's stock.

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.

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