Short Interest in Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) Expands By 32.3%

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 314,600 shares, an increase of 32.3% from the March 15th total of 237,800 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 285,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCH. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco de Chile by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Banco de Chile during the fourth quarter worth $94,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Banco de Chile by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,416 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Banco de Chile by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Banco de Chile by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,324 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Banco de Chile from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Banco de Chile Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BCH opened at $28.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.71 and its 200 day moving average is $24.69. Banco de Chile has a 12-month low of $21.76 and a 12-month high of $28.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Banco de Chile Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $2.1037 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. Banco de Chile’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.55%.

Banco de Chile Company Profile

Banco de Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking services to customers in Chile. The company offers checking and debit accounts, debit and credit cards, and lines of credit; mortgage, consume, commercial, general purpose mortgage loans, and finance leases; and factoring services, mutual fund management, stock brokerage, foreign trade, payments and collections, insurance brokerage, including life and general insurance, as well as time deposits, savings instruments, and foreign currency services through branches under the Banco de Chile and Banco Edwards brands.