Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Short Interest Up 32.7% in December

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 426,855 shares, an increase of 32.7% from the November 30th total of 321,717 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 226,269 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 226,269 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Banco De Chile Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCH traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.04. The stock had a trading volume of 124,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,119. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.23. Banco De Chile has a 1 year low of $22.06 and a 1 year high of $39.19. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.12.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.02). Banco De Chile had a net margin of 32.87% and a return on equity of 23.25%. The firm had revenue of $764.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $831.97 million. Research analysts expect that Banco De Chile will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco De Chile in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Banco De Chile from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research lowered Banco De Chile from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Banco De Chile from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco De Chile

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new position in Banco De Chile during the third quarter valued at $26,962,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 467,468 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,220,000 after acquiring an additional 65,708 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings 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 valued at $10,680,000 after acquiring an additional 234,619 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Banco De Chile by 177.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Banco De Chile by 53.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 216,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,747,000 after acquiring an additional 75,924 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

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.