Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.60 and last traded at $6.56, with a volume of 744037 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SAN shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.01. The firm has a market cap of $100.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. Research analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAN. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. WealthCollab LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Company Profile

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.