Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Short Interest Update

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 903,292 shares, a growth of 74.2% from the April 15th total of 518,614 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 559,725 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BCH. Weiss Ratings lowered Banco De Chile from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Banco De Chile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group set a $48.00 price objective on Banco De Chile and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Banco De Chile Stock Up 1.6%

BCH stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $36.47. 235,905 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,857. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Banco De Chile has a 12-month low of $27.08 and a 12-month high of $46.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 0.24.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Banco De Chile had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 29.95%.The company had revenue of $321.27 million for the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Banco De Chile will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Banco De Chile Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $2.1877 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Banco De Chile’s payout ratio is 68.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco De Chile

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCH. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 33,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 161.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Banco De Chile in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 286.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,722 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 2,425.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401 shares during the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.