Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 426,855 shares, a growth of 32.7% from the November 30th total of 321,717 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 226,269 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 226,269 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BCH. Zacks Research cut shares of Banco De Chile from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Banco De Chile from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Banco De Chile from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco De Chile in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

Banco De Chile Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE BCH traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.04. 124,163 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,119. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.12. Banco De Chile has a twelve month low of $22.06 and a twelve month high of $39.19.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $764.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $831.97 million. Banco De Chile had a return on equity of 23.25% and a net margin of 32.87%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banco De Chile will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banco De Chile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Banco De Chile by 161.6% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banco De Chile by 276.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,513 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 2,425.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco De Chile by 1,355.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the bank’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Banco De Chile during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $145,000. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco De Chile Company Profile

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.