Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 15,501,542 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 310% from the previous session’s volume of 3,784,623 shares.The stock last traded at $7.97 and had previously closed at $8.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $119.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $7.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.94 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. Research analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. WealthCollab LLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 35.1% in the fourth 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. Finally, Prospect Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Banco Santander during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.