Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $7.10, but opened at $6.83. Banco Santander shares last traded at $6.85, with a volume of 661,845 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SAN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Down 3.0 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a market cap of $104.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. Equities research analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.1152 dividend. This is a positive change from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAN. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 33.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,558,000 after buying an additional 5,290,236 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,501,000 after buying an additional 4,689,461 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,135,000 after buying an additional 3,413,685 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Banco Santander by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $732,284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011,150 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, SA provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services.