StockNews.com Downgrades Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

Separately, UBS Group upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

NYSE SAN traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $4.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,121,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,776,501. Banco Santander has a twelve month low of $3.71 and a twelve month high of $5.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $4.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $78.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.14.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a yield of 3%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 50.5% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 9,085 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Banco Santander by 11.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,690,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,623,000 after acquiring an additional 53,039 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Banco Santander by 6.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 438,070 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,234,000 after purchasing an additional 28,350 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 441,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 5,602 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.