Short Interest in Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Expands By 18.0%

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 652,300 shares, an increase of 18.0% from the July 15th total of 552,700 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 285,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Banco Santander-Chile to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander-Chile currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.30.

Banco Santander-Chile Price Performance

Shares of BSAC traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 236,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,042. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. Banco Santander-Chile has a one year low of $16.89 and a one year high of $21.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in Banco Santander-Chile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,991,000. RWC Asset Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 60.5% in the second quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 796,552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,999,000 after purchasing an additional 300,257 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 900.5% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 165,285 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 148,764 shares during the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,327,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the first quarter valued at about $929,000. Institutional investors own 6.42% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander-Chile Company 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.