Itau BBA Securities Upgrades Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) to “Outperform”

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) was upgraded by analysts at Itau BBA Securities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Finviz reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander Chile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Santander Chile from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Banco Santander Chile Stock Up 3.3%

BSAC stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $32.09. The stock had a trading volume of 494,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,856. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.52. Banco Santander Chile has a 52-week low of $20.77 and a 52-week high of $37.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter. Banco Santander Chile had a return on equity of 21.51% and a net margin of 24.57%.The business had revenue of $740.07 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Banco Santander Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Chile

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BSAC. TT International Asset Management LTD acquired a new stake in Banco Santander Chile during the 3rd quarter worth $24,685,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 200.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 832,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,065,000 after buying an additional 555,919 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,561,544 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,603,000 after buying an additional 488,676 shares in the last quarter. INCA Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. INCA Investments LLC now owns 1,064,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,110,000 after buying an additional 349,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Banco Santander Chile by 221.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 271,827 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,457,000 after acquiring an additional 187,151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Chile Company Profile

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.