Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $11.32 and last traded at $11.2850, with a volume of 3604630 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Banco Santander Trading Up 2.5%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.44. The company has a market cap of $167.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.74.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $20.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.32 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAN. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the third quarter valued at $93,811,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 2,038,075.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,643,158 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,438,000 after purchasing an additional 7,642,783 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted 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 purchasing an additional 5,856,034 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in Banco Santander by 225.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,100,768 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,976,000 after buying an additional 2,840,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in 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 worth $120,209,000 after buying an additional 2,607,392 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.