Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 9,090,951 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 45% from the previous session’s volume of 6,266,232 shares.The stock last traded at $12.5840 and had previously closed at $12.23.

The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $18.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.89 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 17.90% and a return on equity of 11.68%.

Banco Santander News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Banco Santander this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Santander beat Q4 estimates, reported stronger revenue and approved a €5 billion buyback — a shareholder‑friendly move that supports earnings per share and capital return. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Santander UK posted a 14% rise in annual pretax profit, helped by higher net interest income and lower costs — evidence of improving UK business performance. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Santander Brasil reached a settlement with Brazil’s tax authority, contributing to roughly 2.4 billion reais in resolved tax payments — removing legal overhang in the region. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Webster Financial acquisition (≈$12.2–12.3bn) is a clear strategic push to build a top‑10 U.S. retail and commercial bank, increasing scale and U.S. deposit presence — strategic upside but integration risk remains. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Santander and peers are reportedly exploring sales of UK pension assets and leadership changes at Santander UK may affect integration of recent acquisitions — developments to watch for balance‑sheet and pension funding impacts. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational integration (TSB, Webster) will be a focus under Santander’s new UK CEO appointments; execution timelines matter for cost savings and synergies. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell after the Webster deal announcement as analysts flagged short‑term execution risks tied to integration and cross‑border expansion, prompting the market sell‑off. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors questioned the valuation/price of the ~$12bn U.S. acquisition and whether the deal multiple is truly accretive, increasing skepticism despite management’s cost/multiple guidance. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

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

Banco Santander Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.80 and a 200-day moving average of $10.50. The company has a market capitalization of $187.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.72.

About Banco Santander

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.