Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities 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.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SAN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in Banco Santander by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689,461 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Banco Santander by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,413,685 shares during the period. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Banco Santander during the first quarter worth $10,181,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Banco Santander by 170.6% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,349,567 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481,207 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Banco Santander by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,449 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of SAN opened at $8.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. Banco Santander has a twelve month low of $4.27 and a twelve month high of $8.08. The firm has a market cap of $121.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $7.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.03.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The company had revenue of $17.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.94 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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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