Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 539,088 shares, an increase of 21.0% from the January 15th total of 445,472 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 465,653 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 465,653 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander Chile

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TT International Asset Management LTD acquired a new stake in Banco Santander Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at $24,685,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Banco Santander Chile by 200.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 832,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,065,000 after purchasing an additional 555,919 shares during the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in 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 worth $48,603,000 after purchasing an additional 488,676 shares during the last quarter. INCA Investments LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander Chile by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. INCA Investments LLC now owns 1,064,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,110,000 after purchasing an additional 349,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 221.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 271,827 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,457,000 after purchasing an additional 187,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Chile Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BSAC opened at $35.74 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Banco Santander Chile has a 12-month low of $20.77 and a 12-month high of $37.72.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter. Banco Santander Chile had a return on equity of 23.25% and a net margin of 24.57%.The company had revenue of $740.07 million for the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Banco Santander Chile will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BSAC. Wall Street Zen lowered Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Banco Santander Chile from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander Chile currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

About Banco Santander Chile

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.