Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.84 and last traded at $6.84, with a volume of 725251 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Banco Santander Price Performance

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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.11. The company has a market cap of $103.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is currently 19.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. WealthCollab LLC lifted its position 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 Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by 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.