Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. UBS Group cut Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Banco Santander currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Banco Santander Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE SAN opened at $12.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.56. Banco Santander has a 12-month low of $5.54 and a 12-month high of $13.11.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 18.85%.The firm had revenue of $18.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.89 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAN. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 11,752.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,963 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,938 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Banco Santander

Here are the key news stories impacting Banco Santander this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported record 2025 results and announced a large share buyback (≈€5.0B), boosting capital return expectations and supporting the stock. Banco Santander Delivers Record 2025 Results and Launches €5 Billion Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a €5.03B buyback tied to the Poland sale and 2025 profits — direct shareholder capital return that typically supports the share price. Banco Santander Launches €5.03 Billion Share Buyback Tied to Poland Sale and 2025 Profits
• Positive Sentiment: Santander agreed to buy Webster Financial for about $12.3B, accelerating U.S. retail expansion and potential NII (net interest income) growth — seen as strategic M&A that can lift long-term earnings. Santander to buy Webster for $12.3B
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat expectations and trading volume spiked, signaling investor enthusiasm for the results and buyback/transaction news. Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Settlement of Brazilian tax disputes with peers reduces contingent litigation risk and potential future charges. Itau, Santander, Citi strike deals to end Brazilian tax disputes
• Neutral Sentiment: Company launched an ESOP ADR shelf and flagged UK cost-cutting measures — structural moves that could improve shareholder returns but carry implementation uncertainty. What Banco Santander (BME:SAN)’s ESOP ADR Shelf and UK Cost Cuts Mean For Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Management scheduled an analyst audioconference and published a 2025 results framework with detail on the Webster deal — useful for due diligence but contains forward-looking assumptions. Banco Santander Schedules Analyst Audioconference Accessible Online
• Negative Sentiment: Santander clarified use of non‑IFRS metrics and flagged wide-ranging risks to its outlook, and separately highlighted risks around the Webster acquisition — these disclosures may limit near-term multiple expansion as investors price in integration and accounting risks. Santander Clarifies Use of Non-IFRS Metrics and Flags Wide-Ranging Risks to Outlook

About Banco Santander

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.