Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Banco Santander's stock recently reached a new 52-week high of $9.42, indicating positive market performance with a significant trading volume of over 2.8 million shares.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" driven by five buy ratings and two hold ratings from various analysts.
• Despite a revenue beat in its latest quarterly earnings report, Banco Santander missed EPS estimates, reporting $0.22 against the expected $0.26.

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $9.42 and last traded at $9.39, with a volume of 2854533 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Banco Santander Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $143.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.55 and a 200-day moving average of $7.39.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $17.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.69 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 17.30% and a return on equity of 11.98%. On average, research analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,005 shares of the bank's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 9,649 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 307,416 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 9,724 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 98,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 7,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,319,000. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

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.