Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $15.00 and last traded at $15.00, with a volume of 6235656 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SAN. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Santander restated a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Banco Santander from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Banco Santander currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Santander Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $218.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.82.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $17.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.90 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 26.94% and a return on equity of 12.43%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 117.9% in the first quarter. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,308 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 151.1% during the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,471 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 9.19% of the stock is 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.