Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Banco Santander Chile from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Banco Santander Chile from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup cut shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander Chile presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $27.67.

Banco Santander Chile Stock Up 0.8%

BSAC traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 35,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,817. Banco Santander Chile has a 1 year low of $18.71 and a 1 year high of $33.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.56 and its 200-day moving average is $27.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 17th. The bank reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $740.10 million for the quarter. Banco Santander Chile had a return on equity of 22.18% and a net margin of 24.74%. As a group, research analysts expect that Banco Santander Chile will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new stake in Banco Santander Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at $24,685,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 200.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 832,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,065,000 after acquiring an additional 555,919 shares during the period. INCA Investments LLC increased its position in Banco Santander Chile by 36.4% during the third quarter. INCA Investments LLC now owns 715,192 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,953,000 after acquiring an additional 191,014 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Banco Santander Chile by 120.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 254,585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,747,000 after acquiring an additional 139,015 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Banco Santander Chile by 462,111.1% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 124,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 124,770 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Chile Company Profile

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.