Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Banco De Chile from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Banco De Chile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group set a $39.00 target price on shares of Banco De Chile and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd.

Banco De Chile Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE BCH opened at $38.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.23. Banco De Chile has a 52-week low of $27.08 and a 52-week high of $46.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $321.27 million during the quarter. Banco De Chile had a net margin of 29.95% and a return on equity of 19.47%. Equities research analysts expect that Banco De Chile will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Banco De Chile Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were given a dividend of $2.1877 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Banco De Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.18%.

Institutional Trading of Banco De Chile

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 72,354 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 16,932 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 25,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 85.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 10,325 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 4,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco De Chile by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,972 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Banco De Chile Company Profile

Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) is a leading Chilean financial institution headquartered in Santiago. Founded in 1893, the bank is one of the country’s oldest and most established banking groups, serving a broad spectrum of individual, corporate and institutional clients. It is publicly listed and operates under Chilean banking regulations while participating in international capital markets.

The bank’s core businesses include retail banking, commercial and corporate banking, and investment banking.