Short Interest in Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) Rises By 15.5%

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 300,300 shares, an increase of 15.5% from the September 30th total of 260,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 162,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Banco de Chile Trading Down 0.1 %

BCH stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $23.48. 3,042 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 190,466. Banco de Chile has a 1 year low of $20.14 and a 1 year high of $25.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.71 and a 200-day moving average of $23.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 0.40.

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $980.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $796.96 million. Banco de Chile had a net margin of 28.99% and a return on equity of 22.72%. Analysts predict that Banco de Chile will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco de Chile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Banco de Chile by 20.9% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 67,099 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 11,609 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Banco de Chile during the third quarter worth $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 4,576 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new position in Banco de Chile during the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Banco de Chile by 61.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 243,009 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,499,000 after purchasing an additional 92,532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Banco de Chile from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

Banco de Chile Company Profile

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.