Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Banco De Chile from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group set a $48.00 price target on Banco De Chile and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco De Chile in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Banco De Chile Price Performance

NYSE BCH opened at $37.58 on Wednesday. Banco De Chile has a 1 year low of $23.66 and a 1 year high of $46.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.97 and a 200 day moving average of $36.77.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.02). Banco De Chile had a net margin of 33.09% and a return on equity of 23.94%. The company had revenue of $826.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $878.92 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Banco De Chile will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCH. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Banco De Chile in the third quarter valued at about $26,962,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in Banco De Chile by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 494,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,775,000 after acquiring an additional 258,844 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Banco De Chile by 199.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 352,465 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,680,000 after acquiring an additional 234,619 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Banco De Chile by 177.7% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 298,085 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,032,000 after purchasing an additional 190,741 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Banco De Chile by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 835,782 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,755,000 after purchasing an additional 190,567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

About Banco De Chile

Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) is a leading Chilean financial institution headquartered in Santiago. Founded in 1893, the bank is one of the country’s oldest and most established banking groups, serving a broad spectrum of individual, corporate and institutional clients. It is publicly listed and operates under Chilean banking regulations while participating in international capital markets.

The bank’s core businesses include retail banking, commercial and corporate banking, and investment banking.