Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $48.00 target price on Banco De Chile and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Banco De Chile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Banco De Chile from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

Banco De Chile Stock Performance

Banco De Chile stock opened at $37.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.11. Banco De Chile has a 52 week low of $27.08 and a 52 week high of $46.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $321.27 million during the quarter. Banco De Chile had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 29.95%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banco De Chile will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco De Chile Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $2.1877 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Banco De Chile’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco De Chile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Banco De Chile by 94.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Banco De Chile by 30.6% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 72,354 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 16,932 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Banco De Chile by 4.6% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 25,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Banco De Chile by 85.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 10,325 shares of the bank’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 4,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Banco De Chile by 3.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,972 shares of the bank’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.