Short Interest in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Increases By 39.3%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 39.3% in February to 58,480,112 shares (about 0.4% of shares outstanding), with a days-to-cover ratio of 3.7 based on average daily volume.
• Analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy, with recent upgrades from UBS, RBC and Kepler and Weiss Ratings lifting its buy assessment.
• Banco Santander declared a $0.1473 per-share dividend payable May 8; the stock recently traded at $10.76, with a market cap of $160.09 billion and a P/E of 10.65.

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 58,480,112 shares, an increase of 39.3% from the February 12th total of 41,984,321 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 15,694,027 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 15,694,027 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SAN shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. DZ Bank lowered Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Banco Santander from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 56,109,418 shares of the bank's stock valued at $658,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719,432 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Banco Santander by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 18,037,272 shares of the bank's stock valued at $211,577,000 after buying an additional 398,787 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Banco Santander by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,766,849 shares of the bank's stock worth $174,839,000 after acquiring an additional 237,825 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 8.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,844,029 shares of the bank's stock valued at $134,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,811 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,400,907 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,273,000 after acquiring an additional 419,035 shares during the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of SAN stock traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $10.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,085,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,967,822. Banco Santander has a 12-month low of $5.54 and a 12-month high of $13.24. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $12.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15. The company has a market capitalization of $160.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.71.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $18.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.89 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 18.85%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

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

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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