Banco Santander Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SAN)

Key Points

• Unusually high put-option activity: Traders bought 3,528 Banco Santander put options, 83% above the typical daily volume of 1,930, signaling increased hedging or bearish interest.
• Shares remain near their 52-week high: SAN fell $0.10 to $14.65, compared with a 52-week range of $9.31 to $15.00. The stock’s market capitalization is approximately $215.27 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Six analysts rate the stock Buy, three Hold, and one Sell, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, despite the bank’s latest EPS coming in slightly below estimates.

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 3,528 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 83% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,930 put options.

Banco Santander Price Performance

SAN traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $14.65. 4,573,663 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,090,768. Banco Santander has a fifty-two week low of $9.31 and a fifty-two week high of $15.00. The company has a market cap of $215.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $13.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.61.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.02). Banco Santander had a net margin of 26.94% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $17.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.90 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Banco Santander will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 117.9% during the first quarter. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,308 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Banco Santander by 151.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,471 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 3,227 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SAN. Weiss Ratings cut Banco Santander from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banco Santander from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Santander reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

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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