UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Stock Price

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at UBS Group from $24.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the bank’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.04% from the company’s current price.

BSAC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Banco Santander Chile Stock Performance

BSAC traded up $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.91. 163,950 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,597. Banco Santander Chile has a 52 week low of $18.19 and a 52 week high of $30.18. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.85 and a 200 day moving average of $25.16. The stock has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Chile

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile in the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander Chile by 41.0% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,894 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 4,330 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC grew its holdings in Banco Santander Chile by 2,389.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 29,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 27,889 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its position in Banco Santander Chile by 45.3% in the first quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 826,754 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,850,000 after acquiring an additional 257,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander Chile in the 1st quarter valued at about $238,000. 6.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.