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

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

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAN. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 50.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 9,085 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 1.7% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 770,092 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,659 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 13.6% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,264 shares of the bank's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 11,608 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Banco Santander by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,024,556 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,225,000 after purchasing an additional 193,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 174,143 shares of the bank's stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 17,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company's stock.

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Banco Santander Price Performance

Banco Santander stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.91. 3,520,037 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,197,334. Banco Santander has a 52-week low of $4.27 and a 52-week high of $7.16. The company has a market cap of $104.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.21.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

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

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.