Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. DZ Bank downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Banco Santander Trading Up 0.1%

Banco Santander stock opened at $11.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.65. Banco Santander has a 12 month low of $4.43 and a 12 month high of $11.78. The company has a market capitalization of $174.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Banco Santander Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.0956 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a yield of 263.0%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,388,554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,303,000 after buying an additional 253,177 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Banco Santander by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 362,080 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 54,664 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 6.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,457,741 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,767,000 after buying an additional 682,480 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 56.0% in the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 74,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 26,842 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, SA (NYSE: SAN) is a Spanish multinational banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the bank has grown from a regional institution into one of Europe’s largest banking groups, operating a diversified financial services platform that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate clients. Santander is publicly listed in Spain and maintains American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAN.

The group’s core activities include retail and commercial banking—offering deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, personal and auto loans, and small business financing—alongside corporate and investment banking services for larger institutional clients.