Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Short Interest Up 22.7% in December

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 501,644 shares, a growth of 22.7% from the December 15th total of 408,701 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 254,946 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 254,946 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on BSAC shares. Citigroup downgraded Banco Santander Chile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Banco Santander Chile from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Banco Santander Chile from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $27.67.

Banco Santander Chile Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE BSAC opened at $32.88 on Wednesday. Banco Santander Chile has a 12 month low of $19.16 and a 12 month high of $33.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 17th. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $740.10 million during the quarter. Banco Santander Chile had a return on equity of 22.18% and a net margin of 24.74%. Research analysts forecast that Banco Santander Chile will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander Chile

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BSAC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Banco Santander Chile by 457.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 107,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,441,000 after acquiring an additional 87,856 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 140.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,222 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 27,549 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander Chile during the 1st quarter worth about $240,000. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 99,974 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,521,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Banco Santander Chile by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 31,529 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 7,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Santander Chile

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) is one of the leading financial institutions in Chile and a key component of the global Santander Group. The bank offers a comprehensive range of banking and financial services, including retail and commercial lending, deposit accounts, credit cards, wealth management, insurance products and corporate banking solutions. Headquartered in Santiago, it operates an extensive network of branches, ATMs and digital platforms to serve individual customers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations across the country.

Originally founded as Banco de Santiago in the late 1970s, the institution became part of the Santander Group following the privatization wave in Chile during the late 1980s.