Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $14.21 and last traded at $14.16, with a volume of 518904 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Banco Santander Stock Up 1.7%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.60 and a 200-day moving average of $12.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.72.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.27 EPS 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 company had revenue of $17.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.66 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orca Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Banco Santander by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,572 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Santander by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 12,442 shares of the bank’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 29,426 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 16,870 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its position in Banco Santander by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 17,477 shares of the bank’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

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.