Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 15,501,542 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 310% from the previous session’s volume of 3,784,623 shares.The stock last traded at $7.97 and had previously closed at $8.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SAN. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.22 and a 200 day moving average of $6.10. The company has a market cap of $119.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.00. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $17.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.94 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAN. Westbourne Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the first quarter valued at approximately $453,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 1st quarter valued at $601,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 358.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,177 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 11,085 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 65.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 71,169 shares of the bank’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 28,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the first quarter worth about $339,000. 9.19% of the stock is 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.