Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Short Interest Update

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 518,614 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the March 31st total of 641,355 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 426,806 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Banco De Chile Stock Performance

Shares of BCH traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $37.99. 466,853 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 478,771. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.22. Banco De Chile has a 12 month low of $27.08 and a 12 month high of $46.77.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Banco De Chile had a return on equity of 23.94% and a net margin of 33.09%.The business had revenue of $808.20 million during the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Banco De Chile will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco De Chile Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a $2.1877 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Banco De Chile’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco De Chile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Banco De Chile by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 835,782 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,755,000 after purchasing an additional 190,567 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Banco De Chile by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 494,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,775,000 after buying an additional 258,844 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Banco De Chile by 199.1% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 352,465 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,680,000 after acquiring an additional 234,619 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Banco De Chile by 177.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 298,085 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,032,000 after acquiring an additional 190,741 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 53.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 216,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,747,000 after acquiring an additional 75,924 shares in the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BCH shares. Zacks Research raised Banco De Chile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Banco De Chile from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco De Chile in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco De Chile currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $40.00.

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.