Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Short Interest Up 26.7% in March

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 74,103,742 shares, a growth of 26.7% from the February 26th total of 58,480,112 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 21,453,660 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Banco Santander Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:SAN traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $10.76. 6,307,129 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,702,291. Banco Santander has a fifty-two week low of $5.54 and a fifty-two week high of $13.24. The company has a market capitalization of $160.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.17.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Banco Santander had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The company had revenue of $17.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.89 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $0.1473 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a yield of 254.0%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is currently 20.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SAN shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banco Santander from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research report on Monday, February 16th. DZ Bank downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Banco Santander presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,743,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,166 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,960,000 after purchasing an additional 95,069 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 500,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,211,000 after purchasing an additional 172,042 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 20.4% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 120,933 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,530 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 67.5% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,529,024 shares of the bank’s stock worth $149,504,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,034 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 (NYSE: SAN) is a Spanish multinational banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the bank has grown from a regional institution into one of Europe’s largest banking groups, operating a diversified financial services platform that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate clients. Santander is publicly listed in Spain and maintains American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAN.

The group’s core activities include retail and commercial banking—offering deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, personal and auto loans, and small business financing—alongside corporate and investment banking services for larger institutional clients.