Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.48.

Several analysts recently commented on BSAC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Banco Santander-Chile to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 115.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,683 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,569 shares of the bank’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander-Chile during the second quarter worth $195,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander-Chile in the second quarter valued at $248,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 88.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,788 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,017 shares during the last quarter. 6.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Performance

BSAC opened at $20.65 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.46. Banco Santander-Chile has a 52-week low of $16.89 and a 52-week high of $21.19. The company has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.01). Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $599.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $693.44 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Banco Santander-Chile will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Banco Santander-Chile

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.