Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH- received rating) recorded a significant increase in short-term interest rates in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 266,400 shares, an increase of 78.2% from June 15th of 149,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 164,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Analyst upgrades and downgrades

Several equity analysts have commented on BCH shares. Grupo Santander upgraded shares of Banco de Chile to an outperform rating from a “neutral” rating, setting a price target of $25.00 for the stock in a report on Thursday, May 19. Banco Santander upgraded the shares of Banco de Chile to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 20 and set a price target of $25.00 for the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Itau BBA Securities lowered shares of Banco de Chile from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a price target of $22.00 for the stock. in a research paper on Tuesday, June 7th. Finally, Itaú Unibanco downgraded shares of Banco de Chile from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a price target of $22.00 for the stock. in a research paper on Tuesday, June 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.67.

Banco de Chile trading up 8.2%

NYSE:BCH shares rose $1.32 on Friday midday to hit $17.33. 294,061 shares of the Company were exchanged compared to an average volume of 165,839. The company has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.21, a PEG ratio of 0.68, and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.92. The company has a debt to equity ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The Banco de Chile has a 12-month low of $15.60 and a 12-month high of $22.74.

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH- received rating) last published its quarterly results on Friday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.69 per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $560.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $742.05 million. Banco de Chile had a net margin of 40.44% and a return on equity of 26.29%. On average, research analysts forecast that Banco de Chile will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge funds rely on Banco de Chile

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding SA acquired a new stake in Banco de Chile valued at $7,571,000 during the fourth quarter. Investors Research Corp increased its holding in Banco de Chile by 18.7% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 48,025 shares of the bank, valued at $1,029,000, after purchasing an additional 7,550 shares last quarter. Veriti Management LLC increased its stake in Banco de Chile by 13.7% in the first quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 69,365 shares of the bank, valued at $1,487,000, after purchasing an additional 8,346 shares last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holding in Banco de Chile by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 590,351 shares of the bank, valued at $9,281,000, after purchasing an additional 22,056 shares last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new $219,000 stake in Banco de Chile during the second quarter. Institutional investors own 0.89% of the company’s shares.

About the Banco de Chile

(received rating)

Banco de Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services to customers in Chile. It operates through retail banking, wholesale banking, and treasury and money market segments. The Company offers deposit products such as current accounts, checking accounts, demand deposits and accounts, savings accounts and time deposits; commercial, mortgage, consumer, working capital, syndicated and installment loans; and credit cards.

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