Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.00.

BCH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banco De Chile in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Banco De Chile from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Banco De Chile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco De Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $48.00 price objective on Banco De Chile and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th.

Banco De Chile Price Performance

NYSE BCH opened at $37.17 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.59. Banco De Chile has a 52 week low of $23.66 and a 52 week high of $46.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.22.

Banco De Chile (NYSE:BCH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). Banco De Chile had a net margin of 33.09% and a return on equity of 23.94%. The business had revenue of $831.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $878.92 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banco De Chile will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco De Chile

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new position in shares of Banco De Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,962,000. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Banco De Chile in the third quarter worth about $1,227,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Banco De Chile in the third quarter worth about $757,000. Truxt Investmentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in shares of Banco De Chile in the third quarter worth about $2,114,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Banco De Chile during the third quarter valued at approximately $492,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

About Banco De Chile

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.