Banco Santander Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SAN)

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 13,194 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,244% compared to the average daily volume of 982 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco Santander presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

SAN stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $6.89. 1,706,191 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,188,963. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. Banco Santander has a 1-year low of $4.27 and a 1-year high of $7.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.15. The firm has a market cap of $104.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. On average, research analysts expect that Banco Santander will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is 19.28%.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 28,990 shares of the bank’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 1,917 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 17,230 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 17,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 50,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Santander

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.