Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $21.56 and last traded at $21.53, with a volume of 11800 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Bank of America downgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.33.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.38 and a 200 day moving average of $19.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The bank reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.05). Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.15%. Research analysts anticipate that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,927,417 shares of the bank's stock worth $81,533,000 after buying an additional 75,888 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 293,049 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,084,000 after acquiring an additional 59,215 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the 3rd quarter worth about $700,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile in the 3rd quarter valued at about $527,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,724,000. 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.