Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $5.83 and last traded at $5.83, with a volume of 4713838 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAN has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Banco Santander Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $95.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.25, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $4.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.87.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,449 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 period. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake 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 period. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.