UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Upgrades Banco Santander Chile on Attractive Current Valuation

In a report published Wednesday, J.P. Morgan analyst Saul Martinez upgraded the rating on Banco Santander Chile BSAC from Neutral to Overweight, and raised the price target from $26.00 to $27.00.

In the report, J.P. Morgan noted, “We have gone from a negative to a positive view of Santander Chile shares in a short amount of time. On June 10, 2013, we upgraded the shares to a Neutral from an Underweight rating. We are now upgrading to an Overweight rating after further share price weakness. In our view, after struggling operationally since 2011, we think higher inflation in 2H13 and better loan growth momentum could trigger notably better earnings and profitability. In addition, we find the current valuation attractive given that it has underperformed all major bank stocks we cover since 2011. Santander Chile is our sole Overweight-rated large capitalization bank outside of Brazil.”

Banco Santander Chile closed on Tuesday at $22.45.