Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on BCH shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Banco De Chile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group set a $48.00 price target on shares of Banco De Chile and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Banco De Chile from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Banco De Chile Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE:BCH opened at $35.80 on Friday. Banco De Chile has a fifty-two week low of $27.08 and a fifty-two week high of $46.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.00.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter. Banco De Chile had a net margin of 29.95% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business had revenue of $321.27 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Banco De Chile will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco De Chile Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $2.1877 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Banco De Chile’s payout ratio is 68.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco De Chile

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Banco De Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,227,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Banco De Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $757,000. Truxt Investmentos Ltda. acquired a new position in shares of Banco De Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,114,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banco De Chile by 440.3% during the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 51,325 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 41,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Banco De Chile by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 494,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,775,000 after acquiring an additional 258,844 shares during the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Banco De Chile

Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) is a leading Chilean financial institution headquartered in Santiago. Founded in 1893, the bank is one of the country’s oldest and most established banking groups, serving a broad spectrum of individual, corporate and institutional clients. It is publicly listed and operates under Chilean banking regulations while participating in international capital markets.

The bank’s core businesses include retail banking, commercial and corporate banking, and investment banking.