Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 1,122,526 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 290% from the previous session’s volume of 287,629 shares.The stock last traded at $20.28 and had previously closed at $20.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on BSAC shares. StockNews.com raised Banco Santander-Chile from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Banco Santander-Chile to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.48.

Banco Santander-Chile Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.58.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $599.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $693.44 million. Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 11.87%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Banco Santander-Chile will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,569 shares of the bank’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 2.4% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 50,862 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 0.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 328,744 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 15.1% in the first quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 13,818 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 1,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 4.0% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 65,669 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.