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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of SAN opened at $7.18 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.61. The company has a market cap of $108.72 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.97. Banco Santander has a 12-month low of $4.27 and a 12-month high of $7.46.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.94 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.1152 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAN. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 5,588 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, WealthCollab LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by 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.