Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.39 and last traded at $22.42, with a volume of 28925 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Bank of America cut shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander-Chile currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.33.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The company has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.56 and its 200-day moving average is $19.81.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.05). Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.15%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BSAC. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 365,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,893,000 after purchasing an additional 113,325 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the fourth quarter worth about $515,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile during the 4th quarter worth about $506,000. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 20,238 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 659,627 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,441,000 after purchasing an additional 116,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.