Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco Santander from “buy” to “hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with 12 Buy ratings and two Hold ratings.
• Banco Santander shares opened at $13.37, below the $15.10 average analyst price target; the stock has traded between $9.62 and $15.05 over the past year.
• The bank’s latest quarterly results slightly missed earnings expectations, reporting $0.27 in EPS versus the $0.29 consensus, while revenue of $17.93 billion edged above estimates.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "buy" rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Mediobanca reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.10.

Banco Santander Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:SAN opened at $13.37 on Friday. Banco Santander has a 1-year low of $9.62 and a 1-year high of $15.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.74. The business's 50-day moving average price is $14.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.17.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $17.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.90 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 26.94% and a return on equity of 12.43%. Sell-side analysts predict that Banco Santander will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Banco Santander by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 18,037,272 shares of the bank's stock valued at $211,577,000 after purchasing an additional 398,787 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,766,849 shares of the bank's stock worth $174,839,000 after purchasing an additional 237,825 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 118.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,413,194 shares of the bank's stock valued at $128,741,000 after buying an additional 6,198,828 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 37.9% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,566,939 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,955,000 after buying an additional 705,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 32.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,535,847 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,324,000 after buying an additional 373,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, SA is a global banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the company provides financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions through subsidiaries and branches across Europe, North America and South America.

Its principal activities include retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, corporate and investment banking, wealth management, insurance and payment services. Santander offers products such as checking and savings accounts, mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, business financing, investment products and digital banking solutions.

The group serves customers in markets including Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and the United States.

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