Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC) Short Interest Down 27.8% in March

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 529,700 shares, a drop of 27.8% from the February 28th total of 733,300 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 266,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BSAC. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 601.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,810 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,089 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Banco Santander-Chile during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,897 shares of the bank's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander-Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.42% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BSAC traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.11. The stock had a trading volume of 379,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,994. Banco Santander-Chile has a 1 year low of $17.73 and a 1 year high of $23.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.43. The company has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.72.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.05). Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.15%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America cut Banco Santander-Chile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Banco Santander-Chile currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.33.

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.