Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.78 and last traded at $13.8050, with a volume of 5046036 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Santander reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $205.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.13.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.02). Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 26.92%.The business had revenue of $17.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.66 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 117.9% during the 1st 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 stake in Banco Santander during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 3,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.