Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Buy" by the four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SAN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 105,415 shares of the bank's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 40,438 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at $3,319,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 791.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 294,036 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 261,066 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 284.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 670,513 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,057,000 after acquiring an additional 496,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments raised its stake in Banco Santander by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 227,478 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 92,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Banco Santander stock opened at $8.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $125.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.00. Banco Santander has a fifty-two week low of $4.27 and a fifty-two week high of $8.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $7.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.45.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.94 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 16.92%. On average, analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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