Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) saw a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 300,300 shares, a growth of 15.5% from the September 30th total of 260,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 162,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Banco de Chile Stock Performance

Shares of Banco de Chile stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.23. 21,310 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,147. Banco de Chile has a 12 month low of $19.87 and a 12 month high of $25.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.86. The company has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $810.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.15 million. Banco de Chile had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 28.99%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco de Chile will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco de Chile

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Banco de Chile by 569.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,279 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Banco de Chile during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Banco de Chile by 629.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,564 shares of the bank’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of Banco de Chile in the third quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Banco de Chile during the 2nd quarter valued at $294,000. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco de Chile from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th.

Banco de Chile Company Profile

Banco de Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking services to customers in Chile. The company offers checking and debit accounts, debit and credit cards, and lines of credit; mortgage, consume, commercial, general purpose mortgage loans, and finance leases; and factoring services, mutual fund management, stock brokerage, foreign trade, payments and collections, insurance brokerage, including life and general insurance, as well as time deposits, savings instruments, and foreign currency services through branches under the Banco de Chile and Banco Edwards brands.