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

Key Points

• Analysts give Banco Santander an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from 10 covering analysts: 1 sell, 3 holds, 5 buys and 1 strong buy.
• The stock has seen multiple recent upgrades (Wall Street Zen, RBC, Weiss Ratings, Kepler; UBS reissued a buy) and the bank reported an EPS beat of $0.28 vs. $0.24 consensus with revenue of $17.68 billion vs. $15.89 billion.
• Shares opened at $11.95 with a market cap of $175.46 billion, P/E of 11.83 and a 52‑week range of $6.82–$13.24; the company announced a $0.1473 dividend payable May 8 (record/ex‑dividend date May 4) with a reported yield of 254.0% and a payout ratio of 18.81%.

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company.

SAN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Banco Santander from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Banco Santander from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Banco Santander stock opened at $11.95 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $175.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $11.74 and its 200 day moving average is $11.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15. Banco Santander has a 52-week low of $6.82 and a 52-week high of $13.24.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $17.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.89 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 12.14%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $0.1473 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 254.0%. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orca Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,572 shares of the bank's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 12,442 shares of the bank's stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 2.0% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 49,186 shares of the bank's stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 29,426 shares of the bank's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 16,870 shares of the bank's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 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.

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