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

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $11.15 and last traded at $11.0250, with a volume of 362991 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Banco Santander currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Banco Santander Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.74.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.90%.The firm had revenue of $20.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.32 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $0.0956 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a yield of 263.0%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio is 20.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAN. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,529,024 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,504,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856,034 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 22.0% during the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 14,482,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,209,000 after buying an additional 2,607,392 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Banco Santander by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,844,029 shares of the bank’s stock worth $134,605,000 after buying an additional 1,000,811 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,211,673 shares of the bank’s stock worth $96,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Banco Santander by 4.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,981,872 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $94,130,000 after acquiring an additional 376,023 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

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.