Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Short Interest Update

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 41,984,321 shares, an increase of 1,043.2% from the January 29th total of 3,672,648 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,539,339 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,539,339 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SAN shares. Barclays downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Banco Santander from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

NYSE:SAN traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.39. The stock had a trading volume of 17,969,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,914,618. Banco Santander has a twelve month low of $5.54 and a twelve month high of $13.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.72.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $18.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.89 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 12.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAN. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the third quarter worth approximately $93,811,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $63,438,000 after buying an additional 7,642,783 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised 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 purchasing an additional 5,856,034 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 225.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,100,768 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,976,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 85.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,552,931 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,195,000 after buying an additional 2,551,675 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is currently 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.