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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SAN. StockNews.com raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Up 4.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $100.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.01.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (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 anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 257,032 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,172,000 after buying an additional 52,337 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 27,418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 11,585 shares during the period. Wolverine Trading LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 512.9% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC now owns 69,108 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 57,833 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 43,062 shares of the bank’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 9,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellevest Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 42,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is 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.