Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.84 and last traded at $6.84, with a volume of 725251 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco Santander has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $108.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $5.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.1152 dividend. This is an increase 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 is presently 19.28%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 2,226.3% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 5,588 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. WealthCollab LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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.