Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company.

SAN has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banco Santander from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. DZ Bank downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Monday, February 16th.

Banco Santander Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Banco Santander stock opened at $11.07 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.01. Banco Santander has a 1 year low of $5.54 and a 1 year high of $13.24. The company has a market capitalization of $164.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Banco Santander had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The firm had revenue of $18.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.89 billion. Research analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.