Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Trading 3.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)’s share price rose 3.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $7.10 and last traded at $7.14. Approximately 2,823,477 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 3,155,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Banco Santander Stock Up 3.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.68 and a 200-day moving average of $5.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $108.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. Sell-side analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.1152 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This is a boost from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is presently 19.28%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 33.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in 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 grew its position in Banco Santander by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,413,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

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.