StockNews.com Downgrades Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Banco de Chile from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th.

Banco de Chile Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:BCH opened at $22.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.81. Banco de Chile has a fifty-two week low of $19.20 and a fifty-two week high of $24.79.

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $824.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.94 million. Banco de Chile had a net margin of 29.41% and a return on equity of 23.65%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banco de Chile will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco de Chile

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banco de Chile by 24.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,926 shares of the bank’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 418,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,455,000 after acquiring an additional 97,601 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Banco de Chile by 4.5% in the third quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 90,058 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in Banco de Chile by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 26,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 8,265 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco de Chile by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,691 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. 1.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco de Chile Company Profile

Banco de Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking services to customers in Chile. The company offers checking and debit accounts, debit and credit cards, and lines of credit; mortgage, consume, commercial, general purpose mortgage loans, and finance leases; and factoring services, mutual fund management, stock brokerage, foreign trade, payments and collections, insurance brokerage, including life and general insurance, as well as time deposits, savings instruments, and foreign currency services through branches under the Banco de Chile and Banco Edwards brands.