Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $5.56 and last traded at $5.55, with a volume of 1432576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SAN. Morgan Stanley upgraded Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Banco Santander Stock Up 2.6 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08. The stock has a market cap of $91.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 11.70%. Equities research analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAN. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Banco Santander during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Banco Santander by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,558,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,236 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,501,000 after acquiring an additional 4,689,461 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Banco Santander by 1.4% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Banco Santander by 55.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,301,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,449 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander Company Profile

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.