Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Buy" from the three ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,501,000 after buying an additional 4,689,461 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,413,685 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 55.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,301,711 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,449 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,106,000 after buying an additional 1,059,449 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Santander by 4,041.6% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 990,966 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 967,039 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE SAN traded up $0.16 on Thursday, hitting $6.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 402,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,498,520. Banco Santander has a 1-year low of $4.27 and a 1-year high of $7.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $6.49 and its 200 day moving average is $5.44. The firm has a market cap of $103.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.26, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. As a group, analysts predict that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This is a positive change from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.28%.

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.