Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.14, but opened at $6.38. Banco Santander shares last traded at $6.33, with a volume of 1,630,966 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SAN. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Up 2.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $95.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.93.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAN. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Banco Santander in the third quarter worth $53,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,558,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,236 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689,461 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,135,000 after buying an additional 3,413,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Banco Santander by 1.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $732,284,000 after buying an additional 2,011,150 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Banco Santander

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.