Citigroup Reiterates Neutral Rating for Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC)

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Citigroup in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Banco Santander Chile from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Banco Santander Chile Price Performance

NYSE BSAC traded up $0.45 on Friday, hitting $29.63. 618,206 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,909. Banco Santander Chile has a 1-year low of $18.19 and a 1-year high of $30.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.74.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). Banco Santander Chile had a return on equity of 22.18% and a net margin of 24.74%.The company had revenue of $581.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $732.50 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Banco Santander Chile will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Chile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BSAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,113,470 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,507,000 after buying an additional 17,119 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile in the first quarter worth about $25,116,000. TT International Asset Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile during the third quarter worth about $24,685,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 200.9% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 832,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,065,000 after purchasing an additional 555,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP grew its position in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 826,754 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,850,000 after purchasing an additional 257,895 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.