Short Interest in Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Declines By 19.1%

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) saw a significant decrease in short interest in 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. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 426,806 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Banco De Chile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $48.00 price target on Banco De Chile and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Banco De Chile from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco De Chile in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco De Chile presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $40.00.

Banco De Chile Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:BCH traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.09. 194,384 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 485,043. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.74. Banco De Chile has a twelve month low of $27.08 and a twelve month high of $46.77. The company has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.25.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $808.20 million for the quarter. Banco De Chile had a return on equity of 23.94% and a net margin of 33.09%. On average, equities analysts predict that Banco De Chile will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Banco De Chile Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, March 30th. Banco De Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.14%.

Institutional Trading of Banco De Chile

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Banco De Chile in the second quarter valued at $1,266,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Banco De Chile by 161.6% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Banco De Chile in the second quarter valued at $238,000. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in Banco De Chile in the second quarter valued at $323,000. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco De Chile Company Profile

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.