Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Upgraded to Buy at Kepler Capital Markets

Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SAN. DZ Bank lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays cut shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Banco Santander Price Performance

SAN stock opened at $12.20 on Tuesday. Banco Santander has a 12 month low of $4.74 and a 12 month high of $12.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.20 and its 200 day moving average is $10.08. The company has a market capitalization of $181.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.73.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.90%.The company had revenue of $26.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.32 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Banco Santander by 67.5% during the 3rd 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 grew its position in Banco Santander by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 14,482,986 shares of the bank’s stock worth $120,209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,392 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Banco Santander by 8.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 20.5% in 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 raised its stake 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 worth $94,130,000 after acquiring an additional 376,023 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Company Profile

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.