Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.22 and last traded at $6.18, with a volume of 589653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SAN. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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, StockNews.com raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $93.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.92. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. Equities research analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,011,150 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,449 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 worth $49,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,413,685 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689,461 shares during the last quarter. 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.