Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $12.12 and last traded at $12.0840, with a volume of 792316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. DZ Bank downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Banco Santander Stock Up 0.0%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.73.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.90%.The company had revenue of $26.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.32 billion. On average, analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.0956 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 263.0%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is 20.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAN. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the third quarter worth about $93,811,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Banco Santander by 2,038,075.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,643,158 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,438,000 after acquiring an additional 7,642,783 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,529,024 shares of the bank’s stock worth $149,504,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,034 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 225.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,100,768 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,976,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Banco Santander by 22.0% during the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 14,482,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,392 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.