Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Cut to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Mediobanca reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Banco Santander from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.10.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of SAN stock opened at $12.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $189.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.42. Banco Santander has a 52-week low of $9.66 and a 52-week high of $15.05.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $17.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.90 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 26.94%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 1.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 5th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $0.1439 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a yield of 217.0%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.07%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 20,658 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,964 shares of the bank’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. LifeGoal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 9.0% during the third quarter. LifeGoal Investments LLC now owns 11,277 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 23,331 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Athena Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 3.7% during the third quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,028 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, SA is a Spain-based global banking group founded in 1857 and headquartered in Santander, Spain. The company provides financial services to individuals, businesses, institutions and governments through a network spanning Europe, North America and South America.

Its principal activities include retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, corporate and investment banking, payments, asset management and private banking. Santander offers products and services such as current and savings accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, insurance, investment products, cash-management services and financing for corporate clients.

The group operates through established banking businesses in markets including Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and the United States.