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

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

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BSAC. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $21.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Itau BBA Securities raised 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 research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Banco Santander-Chile to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Banco Santander-Chile Price Performance

BSAC stock opened at $20.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.86. Banco Santander-Chile has a 1 year low of $16.89 and a 1 year high of $21.19.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 17,618 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander-Chile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,327,000. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,991,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,957 shares of the bank’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 115.5% in the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

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.