Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Shares Purchased by Cardinal Capital Management

Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,099 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Banco Santander-Chile were worth $2,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 247.3% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 274,114 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,170,000 after buying an additional 195,189 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 659,627 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,441,000 after buying an additional 116,200 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 365,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,893,000 after buying an additional 113,325 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 123.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 147,392 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after buying an additional 81,322 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,988,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,226,000 after buying an additional 61,242 shares during the period. 6.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Banco Santander-Chile from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander-Chile presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Banco Santander-Chile Price Performance

BSAC stock opened at $24.69 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. Banco Santander-Chile has a 52-week low of $18.19 and a 52-week high of $25.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.01. The company has a market capitalization of $11.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.68.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $767.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $717.38 billion. Banco Santander-Chile had a return on equity of 19.15% and a net margin of 19.16%. Analysts predict that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander-Chile Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a $1.349 dividend. This is a positive change from Banco Santander-Chile’s previous annual dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 4.8%. Banco Santander-Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.23%.

Banco Santander-Chile Profile

Banco Santander-Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking services in Chile. It operates through Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate Investment Banking, and Corporate Activities segments. The company offers debit and credit cards, checking accounts, and savings products; consumer, automobile, commercial, mortgage, and government-guaranteed loans; and Chilean peso and foreign currency-denominated loans to finance various commercial transactions, trade, foreign currency forward contracts, and credit lines, as well as mortgage financing services.