Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Banco Santander Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of SAN stock opened at $5.64 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.83. Banco Santander has a 1 year low of $3.87 and a 1 year high of $5.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08. The stock has a market cap of $89.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 15.76%. On average, research analysts predict that Banco Santander will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAN. Creative Planning raised its stake in Banco Santander by 13.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,341,733 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,843,000 after acquiring an additional 159,610 shares in the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its position in Banco Santander by 197.0% during the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 557,390 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 369,700 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 111.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 706,184 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after purchasing an additional 372,690 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Banco Santander by 33.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,558,000 after buying an additional 5,290,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 143.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 345,524 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 203,322 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.