Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Now Covered by Citigroup

Citigroup started coverage on shares of Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the bank's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SAN. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Banco Santander Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:SAN traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,803,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,741,847. Banco Santander has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $8.08. The firm's fifty day moving average is $7.20 and its 200 day moving average is $6.06. The stock has a market cap of $121.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. The firm had revenue of $17.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.94 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 197.0% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 557,390 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 369,700 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 62.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,319,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 284.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 670,513 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,057,000 after purchasing an additional 496,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 69.1% during the fourth 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. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander Company Profile

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.