Traders Buy Large Volume of Banco Santander Call Options (NYSE:SAN)

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 13,194 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,244% compared to the typical volume of 982 call options.

Banco Santander Trading Up 3.9 %

Banco Santander stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.15. The stock had a trading volume of 5,710,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,165,348. The firm has a market cap of $108.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.68 and a 200 day moving average of $5.12. Banco Santander has a 52-week low of $4.27 and a 52-week high of $7.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its quarterly 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, analysts anticipate that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.1152 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is presently 19.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 86,172 shares of the bank’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 13,140 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at about $70,000. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 257,032 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,172,000 after buying an additional 52,337 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Banco Santander by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 27,418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 11,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Trading LLC raised its position in Banco Santander by 512.9% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC now owns 69,108 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 57,833 shares during the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Banco Santander

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.