Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) Short Interest Update

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 314,600 shares, an increase of 32.3% from the March 15th total of 237,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 285,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Banco de Chile from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Banco de Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco de Chile

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCH. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,236,373 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,401,000 after purchasing an additional 618,891 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco de Chile by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,335,194 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,282,000 after purchasing an additional 29,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Banco de Chile by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 813,238 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,443,000 after buying an additional 38,232 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 530,363 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,029,000 after buying an additional 7,749 shares during the period. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Banco de Chile in the fourth quarter worth $11,494,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.24% of the company's stock.

Banco de Chile Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BCH traded up $0.84 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.13. The company had a trading volume of 103,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,718. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.51. Banco de Chile has a 12 month low of $21.76 and a 12 month high of $30.21.

Banco de Chile Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were given a $2.1037 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. Banco de Chile's payout ratio is currently 62.55%.

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.