Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.84 and last traded at $6.84, with a volume of 725251 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Banco Santander Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a market cap of $108.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.14.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.1152 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This is a boost from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAN. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,558,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,236 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689,461 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,413,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $732,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,150 shares during the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.