Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.60 and last traded at $6.56, with a volume of 744037 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Banco Santander from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy".

Banco Santander Price Performance

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 company's 50 day moving average price is $5.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.00. The company has a market cap of $98.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 2,226.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. WealthCollab LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

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.