Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.19 EPS

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.19, Zacks reports. Banco Santander Chile had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 21.00%.

Banco Santander Chile Price Performance

Shares of BSAC traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $34.36. 146,702 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 401,266. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Banco Santander Chile has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $37.72. The stock has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BSAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Banco Santander Chile from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Banco Santander Chile to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Banco Santander Chile from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Chile

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander Chile during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander Chile by 577.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Banco Santander Chile by 739.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,486 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Banco Santander Chile by 703.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Banco Santander Chile by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,398 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. 6.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.