Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 454,600 shares, a growth of 59.6% from the October 31st total of 284,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 177,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco de Chile

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco de Chile in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Banco de Chile by 31.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,596 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 3,730 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Banco de Chile by 69.7% in the third 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. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Banco de Chile by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,151 shares of the bank’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 5,016 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Banco de Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. 1.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco de Chile Stock Performance

Banco de Chile stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.80. The company had a trading volume of 62,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 220,857. Banco de Chile has a 12-month low of $20.93 and a 12-month high of $25.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.92 and its 200-day moving average is $23.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $980.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $796.96 million. Banco de Chile had a net margin of 30.00% and a return on equity of 22.69%. On average, research analysts expect that Banco de Chile will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.