Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Banco de Chile from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Banco de Chile Stock Performance

NYSE BCH opened at $29.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Banco de Chile has a 1-year low of $22.06 and a 1-year high of $30.83. The company has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.07.

Banco de Chile Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a $2.1037 dividend. This represents a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. Banco de Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco de Chile

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Banco de Chile by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Banco de Chile during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Banco de Chile during the fourth quarter worth about $151,000. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.