Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Upgraded at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) was upgraded by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Banco Santander Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE SAN opened at $6.34 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $95.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12. Banco Santander has a 12 month low of $4.07 and a 12 month high of $6.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.11 and a 200-day moving average of $4.95.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAN. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 1.4% in 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. FMR LLC lifted its position in Banco Santander by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,449 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,413,685 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Banco Santander in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 106.3% during 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. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.