Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) Short Interest Down 27.5% in February

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 267,900 shares, a decline of 27.5% from the February 13th total of 369,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 242,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BCH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Banco de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Banco de Chile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Banco de Chile by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,416 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Banco de Chile by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,324 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Banco de Chile during the fourth quarter worth approximately $151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Banco de Chile Trading Up 2.4 %

BCH stock traded up $0.66 on Monday, hitting $28.35. 192,490 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.39. Banco de Chile has a twelve month low of $20.93 and a twelve month high of $28.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.35.

Banco de Chile Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $2.1037 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. Banco de Chile’s payout ratio is 53.78%.

About Banco de Chile

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.