Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Stock Has Average Price Target of $15.10

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.10.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SAN. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banco Santander from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Monday, July 27th.

Banco Santander Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of SAN opened at $12.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.42. Banco Santander has a 1 year low of $9.66 and a 1 year high of $15.05. The stock has a market cap of $189.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.74.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $17.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.90 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 26.94%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 1.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 5th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.1439 per share. This represents a yield of 217.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAN. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander in the third quarter valued at about $147,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. XXI Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Santander by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. XXI Wealth LLC now owns 21,989 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $177,000. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 65,502 shares of the bank’s stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, SA is a Spain-based global banking group founded in 1857 and headquartered in Santander, Spain. The company provides financial services to individuals, businesses, institutions and governments through a network spanning Europe, North America and South America.

Its principal activities include retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, corporate and investment banking, payments, asset management and private banking. Santander offers products and services such as current and savings accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, insurance, investment products, cash-management services and financing for corporate clients.

The group operates through established banking businesses in markets including Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and the United States.