Short Interest in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Drops By 33.9%

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,170,000 shares, a decline of 33.9% from the November 30th total of 9,340,000 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,940,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley raised Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,341,733 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 159,610 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 111.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 706,184 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after buying an additional 372,690 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Banco Santander by 143.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 345,524 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 203,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Banco Santander by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 668,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,409,000 after acquiring an additional 214,868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of Banco Santander stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $4.54. 3,411,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,776,875. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.80. Banco Santander has a 52 week low of $3.83 and a 52 week high of $5.27. The firm has a market cap of $71.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.68, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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.