Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $11.64 and last traded at $11.5250, with a volume of 2316103 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SAN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Banco Santander Trading Up 1.0%

The stock has a market cap of $173.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.57.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $20.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.32 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.90%. On average, analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.0956 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a yield of 263.0%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is presently 19.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAN. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 67.5% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,529,024 shares of the bank’s stock worth $149,504,000 after buying an additional 5,856,034 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Santander by 22.0% in the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 14,482,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,392 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Banco Santander by 8.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,844,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $134,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,811 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 20.5% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,211,673 shares of the bank’s stock worth $96,538,000 after buying an additional 1,568,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,981,872 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $94,130,000 after purchasing an additional 376,023 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.