SIH Partners LLLP Takes $826,000 Position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

SIH Partners LLLP acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 181,100 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 27,921 shares of the bank's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 11,446 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 5,429,260 shares of the bank's stock worth $24,757,000 after purchasing an additional 362,500 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 899.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 399,656 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 359,660 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 257,032 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 52,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 23,567 shares of the bank's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 10,615 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banco Santander currently has an average rating of "Buy".

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of SAN traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.25. 4,504,447 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,478,276. The company has a market cap of $109.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.27 and a 52-week high of $7.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.49. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. On average, equities analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.28%.

Banco Santander 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.