Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.01), reports. The company had revenue of $787.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $826.15 million. Banco Santander Chile had a net margin of 24.57% and a return on equity of 21.51%.

Banco Santander Chile Price Performance

NYSE:BSAC traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.06. 974,040 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 427,113. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Banco Santander Chile has a 1 year low of $22.77 and a 1 year high of $37.72. The company has a market cap of $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BSAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America raised shares of Banco Santander Chile from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Santander Chile from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Chile

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander Chile in the fourth quarter worth $292,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,551 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,355,000 after buying an additional 6,745 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 32,634 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 2,007 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 271,827 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,457,000 after buying an additional 187,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laird Norton Wetherby Trust Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander Chile in the fourth quarter worth $531,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Santander Chile

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.